Bad Blood
by notcarlsjr
Summary: To Leah Kane, Beacon Hills has always been nothing but a boring suburb. But of course, when her best friend is bit by a werewolf, her opinion of her hometown drastically changes. Now, she's taking on the supernatural world side by side with her best friend and her mortal enemy-trying to figure out who bit her best friend, and even finding out secrets about her family and herself.
1. The Preserve

The tea kettle was whistling, causing Leah Kane to push out of her chair and walk over to the stove. She flicked the kettle off and grabbed her mug, ripping open a tea bag and placing it in the mug. She hummed a mindless tune to herself as she poured the water out into the mug, only to stop when she heard something outside. It sounded like footsteps on her back porch. Leah looked out the kitchen window to see nothing but trees and darkness.

Right before she looked away, a figure flashed by, running across her porch. Leah jumped a bit, backing up from the window as she watched the figure go for the back door. She gripped the kettle a bit tighter and stepped closer to the door. Her dad was asleep before his shift later that night and her mom was at the station, so she knew it couldn't be them.

Leah reached out for the doorknob, ready to make the first move; her plan was to toss the kettle — hot water and all, onto the intruder. She had the kettle ready as she wrenched the door open, only to hear a scream. Leah screamed right back, flailing about, a bit of water flying out, before her neighbor's hand came clapping down on her mouth, stifling her yell.

Leah yanked his hand off her mouth, and glared at him, "Scott, what the hell?" She hissed out, staring at her neighbor, Scott McCall, "It's like midnight!"

"You weren't answering your phone!" Scott stomped his foot, raising his shoulders up. Leah gave him a look.

"My phone is upstairs, I am downstairs." Leah said, as if that was enough explanation. Scott scrunched up his features, not responding.

"Why do you have a tea kettle?" Scott asked after a moment, glancing down to her hand.

"I thought you were a robber or something!" Leah exclaimed, holding up the tea kettle. Scott's eyes went wide.

"A robber!?" Scott hissed, getting Leah to roll her eyes

"Scott! What is it!?"She stomped her foot, leaning her hand against the doorframe. Scott perked back up, remembering why he came over to Leah's.

"Stiles' dad just got a call about a body found in the woods."

"So?" She asked, moving her head around a bit. Scott's eager smile fell.

"Well, I mean, they only found half so Stiles and I were gonna go look for the other half and I was thinking you could come."

"Trek through the woods, in the dark, with you two, to find a dead body." Leah dryly stated.

" _Half_ a dead body." Scott corrected her.

"Oh, well, in that case I'm all in!" Leah sarcastically said, raising a hand. Scott raised his hands up, clasping them in front of his face,

"Please, Leah." Scott begged.

"Just because Stiles dragged you out, doesn't mean you have to drag me out too." Leah waved the tea kettle in the air, "I am _totally_ _fine_ with binge watching some Friday Night Lights and then going to bed because, in case you forgot, lacrosse tryouts are tomorrow. And I specifically remember a certain someone saying they wanted to make first line…" Leah trailed off, raising an eyebrow as she looked pointedly at Scott. Scott rolled his head back and groaned.

"Ugh, you're right." Scott turned away from his neighbor, but Leah stopped him,

"Wait." Scott turned around, eyebrows raised, "I can't just let you go out into the woods with Stiles to find a body." Leah sighed.

"Actually it's half a—"

"Oh my God." She groaned out, stepping back from the door. "I'll be out in two minutes."

Leah closed the back door on Scott, walking over to put the kettle back on the stove. She dumped out her tea and turned back to the island to clean up her books and various items. Her gray cat, Webster, jumped up onto the island and looked at her expectantly.

"What?" She asked him, "Oh, come on. It's Scott and Stiles. It'd be worse if I didn't go with them." She closed her textbooks and picked them up in her arms, "Honestly, I'm keeping them safe. It's fine." Leah scratched behind his ears as she walked out of the kitchen.

Leah placed her books on the end table in the living room, grabbing her jacket from where it was on the back of the couch and shoved her feet into a pair of worn in running sneakers. Flipping her hood up, Leah quietly walked back through the kitchen, ready to meet Scott outside. She paused and grabbed a knife from the drawer, placing it safely in her bra, just in case. Leah quietly opened the back door and headed down the back porch steps, going around the house towards where she saw the idling Jeep. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets as she ambled up the passenger side door.

"Barbie." A familiar voice greeted Leah as she opened the door and climbed into the Jeep.

"Douchecanoe." Leah quipped back, glaring at Stiles Stilinski's reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Oh, nice one." Stiles squinted, making a face.

"Thank you." Leah slammed the door shut, rolling her eyes.

"Why is she here again?" Stiles asked, looking over to Scott.

"Because." Scott said as if that was enough of an answer. Stiles pursed his lips and jutted his chin forward.

"Okay then. Just remember, the bitchy blonde always dies first." He said, looking in the rearview mirror at Leah.

"And the sarcastic best friend turns out to be the killer." Leah shot back. Stiles winked at Leah, getting her to roll her eyes again, as Stiles put the Jeep in drive.

Leah sat back in her seat, looking out the window as Stiles drove towards the Preserve. Leah had lived in Beacon Hills all her life and had never met a bigger asshole, in her opinion, than Stiles. No, that was a lie. Jackson Whittemore was number one on her list, but Stiles was definitely number two.

What was her problem with Stiles Stilinski? There was no definite problem; Leah just hated him. Simply and purely hated him. Luckily for her, it was a mutual hate; Stiles hated Leah just as much as Leah hated him. The two of them grew up together since their parents both worked at the sheriff's station—Stiles' dad eventually was promoted to Sheriff while Leah's mom became his right hand woman.

Both were close with Scott McCall — Leah having grown up right next door to Scott, and she introduced the boys when they were in elementary school, wanting them all to be friends, but when Scott went to go live with his dad for a couple of months when they were all in middle school, Stiles and Leah began drifting away from each other. Once Scott came back to Beacon Hills, it was clear that both Stiles and Leah were _not_ friendly in any way and Scott didn't know what had happened.

When high school started, Leah found herself being the third wheel to Scott and Stiles' friendship. She had to give Scott credit for trying to get Stiles and her to hang out, but Stiles and Leah were too alike, butting heads more often than not. Both of them had a mutual intolerance for each other, something that wasn't going away anytime soon. If Stiles and Leah wanted to hang out with Scott, chances were they had to hang out with each other too.

"Let's go find a body." Stiles said in a scary voice as he flicked his flashlight on, holding it under his chin. Leah rolled her eyes as she pushed out of the Jeep.

"You see this sign?" Leah said, going up to the chain where a sign proclaiming that it was the _Beacon Hills Preserve_. "Right here, it says, _No Entry After Dark_." Leah said, tapping her finger on each word. Stiles shoved by her, nimbly stepping over the chain and heading into the forest. Leah huffed as Scott followed behind him.

"Dude, why are we doing this?" Scott asked as Leah stepped over the chain, hurrying a bit to catch up with the boys. She could feel the cold metal of the knife against her skin and moved her hand up to adjust it so it wouldn't accidentally stab her.

"You're the one that's always bitchin' how nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles waved his flashlight around.

"Right, but I wanted to get a good night's sleep."

" _Excuse me_?" Leah all about cried out, "I thought you wanted to do this." She waved her hands around, motioning to the situation they were in.

"I mean, you're right, lacrosse tryouts _are_ tomorrow and I want to be well-rested." Scott shrugged. Leah rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and letting out a grumble.

"Yeah, cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort." Stiles sighed as he wove through the trees. Scott and Leah were a few feet behind Stiles, walking next to each other.

"I'm making first line this season." Scott defended himself.

"You know, it's good to have a dream. Even a completely unrealistic one." Stiles quipped. Leah rolled her eyes at Stiles.

"Scott and I have been practicing almost every day over break, idiot. We have a pretty good chance."

" _We_?" Stiles let out a bark of a laugh, "Yeah, okay, you wouldn't last two minutes on the field."

"Oh, yeah?" Leah challenged, "Why? Cause I'm a girl?"

"Uh, yeah!" Stiles laughed again, "Sorry, Kane, but you aren't really, you know, the type to play lacrosse." Stiles put his hand on his hip as he stared at Leah. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin at him.

"I'll keep that in mind when I knock your ass to the ground." She smirked at him, "Oh, wait, you'll be on the bench the whole season."

"Right next to you." Stiles reached out and slapped Leah's arm with a grin.

"Don't touch me." Leah automatically said, pulling back.

"Quick question." Scott interrupted them, "So what happens if we find the body?" Stiles made a face before turning away, starting through the forest again.

"Huh, didn't think of that."

"And what half of the body are we looking for?" Scott asked as they followed behind Stiles.

"I have no clue."

"And what if whoever killed the person is still out here?" Scott asked.

"Didn't think of that either." Stiles answered as they came upon a hill.

"Glad to know you thought this through with your usual attention to detail." Scott sighed out.

"I know." Stiles laughed as he climbed up the hill. Leah tugged on a branch, pulling herself up to the top.

"I can see the headline now: _Three Teens Dead Because of Town Idiot, Bright Futures Ended_." Leah made a motion with her hand. Stiles slumped and turned around to look at her again, waving the flashlight at her.

"Seriously, Barbie, what are you even doing here? Don't bottle blondes hate nature?"

"A. I'm not a bottle blonde. B. I had nothing better to do." Leah held up her fingers as she ticked off her reasons.

"Don't you have to pet your cat?" Stiles asked, making a face.

"I mean, I already masturbated so…" Leah trailed off, shrugging. Stiles' face crinkled up.

"You're disgusting."

"Everyone does it." Leah said back.

"You see, this is why boys don't like you." Stiles waved the flashlight at Leah, "Because of this."

"Because of this?" Leah asked, moving her hands down her body, "Please." She scoffed, "Everyone likes this." Stiles opened his mouth to argue back, but Scott stopped him.

"Dude, we're out here to find a body, not to argue about whatever the hell you're arguing about."

Stiles and Leah shared a look before Stiles dramatically spun away and stomped off. Scott sighed and went after Stiles, Leah following behind. Stiles started to climb another hill and Leah could tell that Scott was getting winded.

"You know, maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight." Scott huffed out as he leaned against a tree. Leah watched him take out his inhaler to take a puff, getting his breath back.

Rain had started to fall around them, making Leah tighten her hoodie against her chest, stomping her foot a bit as she looked around the forest. She felt the knife move against her again, so she reached into her shirt and pulled it out just as Stiles turned to say something, flashlight landing on the knife in Leah's hand.

"Woah! Woah! Woah, what the hell?" Stiles cried out, "Listen, Kane, we can find another way…" Leah looked at the knife before looking back at Stiles as he continued to ramble.

"Oh my God. Do you think—oh my God, you totally did!" Leah laughed, waving the knife around. Stiles was flinching a bit, "You afraid, Stiles? That I'm gonna cut you up Dexter style?" Leah made a face.

"Leah, stop." Scott said as Leah bounced on each foot in front of Stiles. Stiles swatted at Leah, avoiding the knife, and getting annoyed.

"Wanna play?" She asked, grinning.

"Uh, no not really." Stiles moved back a bit as she pretended to lung at him.

"Okay. Gimme that." Scott grabbed the knife from Leah's hand and tossed away, into the woods.

"Hey!" Leah cried out, glaring up at Scott.

"God, Leah, don't you know not to play with knives?" Stiles squinted at Leah.

"You just threw away our only protection." Leah ignored Stiles, eyes still on Scott.

"Well, we got these babies." Stiles whirled back around and flexed his arms. Leah burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" Leah laughed out, "I mean, Webster is better protection than you!" Stiles made a face, repeating what she said in a higher voice under his breath, kicking at the ground. Scott closed his eyes, sighing at their antics before they continued walking through the woods.

Then Stiles dove forward, flattening himself to the ground. Leah wildly looked around before she felt his hand on her ankle, Stiles yanking her down next to him.

"What the hell—"

"Shut up." Stiles hissed out, flicking his flashlight off. Scott was on the ground on the other side of Stiles. Leah looked out into the forest to see a squad of people scanning the forest. There were dogs and flashlights.

"Come on." Stiles hissed out as he scrambled to his feet, sprinting away from them.

"Stiles!" Scott and Leah both said at the same time. Leah pushed herself to her feet, following after Stiles, cursing him under her breath.

"Stiles!" She whispered out, running in the same direction that he did.

Leah heard Scott call her name from behind her, so she glanced over her shoulder, not finding him anywhere. Suddenly, there were dogs barking and a girly scream coming from Stiles. Leah dove behind a tree, clapping a hand over her mouth as she stifled a giggle.

"Hang on. Hang on." It was Sheriff Stilinski. _Oh, we are so screwed._ Leah thought to herself, "This little delinquent belongs to me." Leah cringed as the rain started to soak through her hoodie.

"Dad." Leah heard Stiles casually greet his father.

"Son. Do you listen in on all of my calls?" The sheriff asked.

"No, heh. Not the boring ones." Stiles admitted.

"And where's your usual partner in crime?" Leah glanced around, trying to find Scott. She spotted him hiding behind the tree a few feet away from her. His eyes were wide as he motioned to her, but Leah couldn't make out what he wanted her to do.

"Who? Scott?" Stiles asked, "Scott's home. Said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for school." There was a pause before the sheriff's voice boomed across the forest,

"Scott! You out there?" Scott motioned with his head. Leah watched him closely as he motioned for her to go. Leah shook her head, not wanting to ditch her best friend.

"Go." Scott whispered out, loud enough for Leah to hear. Leah clenched her jaw before closing her eyes and stepping out. The hard light of the flashlight waved over her body and Leah opened one eye as the flashlight settled on her.

"Leah?" The sheriff asked as Leah stepped forward with her hands in the air.

"Hey, Sheriff." She said, blinking my eyes open as the flashlight fell away from her face.

"Leah!" Leah cringed at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Hey….Mom." Leah casually said, stuffing her hands in her pockets as Tara Kane stepped up next to the sheriff, shining her flashlight on Leah. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was dressed in her uniform, her baby bump protruding from underneath.

"What are you doing out here?" Tara questioned, stepping closer to Leah.

"Uh, stargazing?" Leah squinted an eye shut as she scratched behind her ear. Tara gave her a _yeah right_ look as she wrapped her hand around the dog leash.

"Stiles, we're gonna walk you back to the Jeep, and we're gonna have a serious talk about invasion of privacy. Then you're gonna drive Leah home." The sheriff seriously said, waving the flashlight over Stiles and Leah.

"Stiles doesn't have to drive Leah home." Mom piped up, looking at Leah as she talked, "It's out of the way for him."

"No, he can do it. He took her out here, he's taking her home. He's gotta learn to take responsibilities for his actions." The sheriff pointed at Stiles, glaring at him.

"I highly doubt he just swung by and picked Leah up." Mom said, glancing at the sheriff. The sheriff sighed.

"How _did_ you two get out here?" The sheriff asked, well aware of his son's feelings towards Leah Kane. Leah looked at Stiles, who motioned at her.

"It's all you." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, well, Scott didn't want to go and I saw Stiles so I just…called down and asked where he was going and then…." Leah shrugged, "Here we are." Tara fixed her with a look, not amused in any way.

"Let's go." The sheriff said, "Tara, keep going on the trail. I'll catch up." Tara nodded before looking back at Leah.

"We are going to have a serious talk when we get home, young lady." Tara pointed at Leah with the flashlight. Leah made a face, cringing, but nodding.

"Come on you two." The sheriff grabbed Stiles by the scruff of his neck and tugged him forward. Leah saluted her mom, who just shook her head and looked away.

As they walked back to the Jeep, Leah kept looking around the forest to see if Scott was around. She couldn't see much since Stiles and the sheriff had the flashlights, but she tried her best, feeling a knot begin to form in her stomach as it became clear that Scott was still out there and they weren't going back for him.

Leah leaned against the Jeep, trying not to listen as Stiles got reprimanded by his dad. She turned to look once or twice, only to see Stiles' rolling his head back and the sheriff's expression turning more and more stern.

"Now, you drop Leah off and go straight home." The sheriff sternly said in his _no arguments_ voice. Leah looked back to see Stiles staring at her, looking annoyed.

"Fine." He managed through gritted teeth.

"Your mother will deal with you when she gets home." The sheriff pointed at Leah, reminding her that she wasn't off the hook. Leah raised her hands in the air and nodded.

"Understood."

The sheriff looked in between the two of them before sighing, relaxing a bit. "Get home, guys. Get some rest. You have school tomorrow."

Stiles and Leah both groaned at the same time and then looked at each other. Leah gave him the stink eye and pushed off the Jeep, opening up the passenger side door and climbing inside as Stiles got in the driver's seat. The Sheriff watched as Stiles started the car and reversed back, getting onto the main road.

Leah reached over to turn on the radio, only to have Stiles slap her hand away, "Don't touch my car." He said before shifting gears. Leah rolled her eyes as Stiles spun the wheel, heading towards home.

"Uh, where are we going?" She asked, looking behind her as they drove away from the Preserve.

"Did all the chemicals in the dye seep into your brain and make you stupid? I'm driving you home." Stiles said as if it were the most obvious thing. Leah glared at him.

"What about Scott?"

"What about Scott?" Stiles asked.

"Stiles! We can't leave him in the woods!" She cried out. "We have to go back!"

"No! No way, I'm not getting in another heap of trouble with my dad."

"Scott is my best friend, Stiles! We have to go back."

"No, he's my best friend!"

"Go back then!" She said through gritted teeth.

"Leah, stop arguing with me. I'm driving you home."

"He's out there, _alone_ , in the woods where someone was just murdered and the killer could still be out there!" Leah cried out, smacking the dashboard. Stiles didn't answer. Leah pushed her chin out and glared at Stiles.

"Stiles, I swear to God, if he's dead, I'm gonna kill you."

"With what? Your skateboard?" Stiles rolled his eyes. Leah continued to glare at him as the Jeep slowed down. She looked to see that they were in front of her house. "Now, get out of my car." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Go fuck yourself." Leah seethed out as she shoved the door open.

"Can't perform that activity on my own." Stiles sang out.

"Use your hand." She glared at Stiles again before jumping out of the Jeep. Leah slammed the car door, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked up to her house.

"Go get your beauty sleep, Barbie. You're gonna need it." Stiles called out.

Leah spun around only to flip Stiles off. Stiles smirked at her before he drove off. Leah whirled around, stomping up to her house. She walked around the back to the back door, walking into the kitchen before locking it.

"Hey, kiddo." Leah froze at the sound of her dad's voice. She slowly turned to see her dad, Andrew Kane, lift his coffee cup at her in greeting.

Leah slumped against the door, defeated, "You don't have to yell at me. Mom already caught me." She grumbled. D laughed a bit, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Was that Stiles?" He asked.

"Unfortunately." She sighed, shoving off the door and walking over to the island. Leah leaned her elbows on the other side, resting her chin in her hands.

"Where'd you go to? The lookout?" Leah took in a startled breath, coughing a bit as her spit went down the wrong pipe. The lookout was known to be the place where couples went to make out late at night.

"Dad!" Leah gasped as she got her breathing back, "First off, no and second off, ew!" Leah made a face, "He's probably tried to suck his own dick with that mouth." Leah shivered as Drew grimaced.

"Thanks, Lele." Drew blew out a breath before taking the coffee back. "Thanks for that vivid picture."

"It's most likely true." Leah raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself.

"Bed, please, before your mother gets home." Leah nodded, standing up straight.

"Right." Leah walked over and kissed her dad's cheek, "Night, Dad." She said before walking by him.

"Night, Leah." He called back as she went for the stairs.

Leah climbed up the stairs, hand on the railing, other on her phone as she anxiously checked for any texts from Scott. There was nothing. Leah sent one to him, asking him to call her when he got home. She quietly cursed herself for not forcing Stiles to go back to the preserve. Briefly, she thought about heading back out to the Preserve and trying to find Scott.

Leah nudged her bedroom door open and took two steps before falling face first onto her bed, blowing out a breath. She felt her cat jump onto her bed, walking in small circles before settling down next to her. Leah laid there for a moment before rolling onto her back, staring up at her ceiling and counting the glow in the dark stars she and Stiles had stuck up there when they were kids — making their own constellations. For some reason, she had never took them down, even though they stopped glowing in the dark.

Looking at her phone again and seeing no new texts from Scott, Leah got up off of her bed and went over to her window, which faced Scott's room. She always kept it unlocked so he could come into her bedroom whenever he wanted to. There was a tree that the two used to climb over to each other's respective bedrooms, usually forgoing the use of the front door, unless the bedroom lights were off. Scott's bedroom lights were off and Leah folded herself on the window seat, staring at Scott's bedroom.

Scott rarely got into trouble and if he ever did, it was almost always Stiles and Leah's fault. Leah felt guilty for ditching him and a little angry at Stiles for making them ditch Scott. Stiles cared about himself and his dad and then Scott. Leah really only cared about Scott and then herself, so she felt guilty and thought that if anything happened to Scott, it would be her fault.

Taking in a breath, Leah pushed open her window, climbing out onto the tree that was outside of her room. She maneuvered her way down the tree, jumping off it when she was a few feet from the ground. Even though her skateboard was in the house, she still had a bike-she hadn't ridden it in forever, but it would get her where she needed to go. Leah rolled her bike out from the garage, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that her dad wasn't coming out of the house. She mounted the bike, pedaling off towards the Preserve.

The streetlights flashed above Leah as she pedaled, the wind was blowing her hair away from her face, but other than that, Beacon Hills was quiet. She had lived in the town her whole life and knew it was just another boring suburb with a scandal-the Hale fire, which no one ever talked about. Other than that, Leah thought it was a pretty dull town.

While she pedaled, Leah managed to check her phone, seeing that Scott still hadn't texted her. Leah took in a breath and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She had gotten to the Preserve entrance, where she ditched her bike, and climbed back over the chain link fence, ignoring the sign once again.

"Scott?" Leah called out, looking through the forest as she walked.

She didn't think this through at all; she had no weapon or flashlight with her. If the killer was still out in the woods, she was dead. But she needed to find Scott, so she trekked on. Leah tried to remember what path they took earlier in the night, but everything looked different to her. She walked straight, calling out Scott's name a few times, and trying not to get lost.

After what felt like a long time, but was probably only a few minutes, of searching, Leah decided to turn back. She looked at her phone as she walked, staring at her home screen which was void of any texts from her best friend. That's when she tripped over a fallen branch and went stumbling onto the ground, sliding her hands down on the ground to catch herself. She felt something cut her hand and let out a small gasp of pain. Shining her phone on her wound, Leah saw that it wasn't a deep cut, and was probably from one of the rocks on the ground. Leah grumbled to herself, pushing to her feet as she swiped her hand on her pants.

Leah kept walking, picking up her pace when she heard something snap from around her. She didn't know what could be out there-animal or human and she didn't want to find out. The rain started to pick up again as Leah hurried through the woods, eighty-eight percent sure of where she was going. She kept her head down, watching her step, only to run straight into someone.

Letting out a scream, Leah's head snapped up to face the girls she had run into, who was also screaming. Both girls were flailing a bit as they stared at each other with wide eyes, still screaming. Leah didn't stick around long enough to have a chat with the girl, sprinting away from her and into the woods.

Leah managed to run straight onto the empty road that ran next to the Preserve. Catching her breath, Leah spun around, trying to find if the girl had followed her out of the woods. When it was clear she was alone, Leah started to calm down a bit, regaining her breathing.

Ditching her bike, Leah walked home, checking over her shoulder for the girl. She didn't get a great look at the girl; everything happened within seconds. From what she remembered, the girl had long dark hair and was taller than Leah-but everyone was taller than her. The girl seemed just as frightened as Leah was, but Leah couldn't help but wonder why the girl was in the woods.

Once she got back to her house, Leah climbed back up the tree, stepping onto the window seat and re-entering her room. She closed the window and looked over to see that the lights were still off in Scott's room. Leah hadn't found him, nor had he texted her since she had left the Preserve.

"Scott's probably fine." She mumbled, trying to reassure herself.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on Leah's door, making her look over her shoulder, "Come in." Leah called out, stepping away from the window seat and climbing onto her bed as Tara walked in. Her mom was still in her uniform and Leah thanked a higher power for getting home mere minutes before her mom.

"What the hell, Leah?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"Can we _please_ not do this?" Leah asked, curling up on her bed..

"No, we're doing this, Leah." Tara was serious as she walked over to Leah's bed, "What were you thinking?!"

"I obviously wasn't." Leah mumbled into her pillows,

"Obviously! Do you realize how dangerous that was?"

"It wasn't dangerous at all!" Leah cried out, lifting her head up. Tara arched an eyebrow, "Okay, maybe a little." Tara raised both eyebrows, "Or a lot. Okay, sorry!" Leah moved her hands around before shoving her head back into her pillow. Tara sighed, rubbing her temple before sitting down on the edge of Leah's bed.

"Why were you even out there?"

"Something to do? I don't know." Leah sighed, rolling onto her side so she could look at her mom, "This town is so boring. The half body thing was like _the biggest thing_ to happen since the Hale fire." Tara pursed her lips and looked away from Leah at the mention of the Hale fire. There was a bit of silence before Tara spoke up,

"It was still dangerous. And you just showing up while we're trying to find a dead body, how does that make me look?"

"Mom." Leah propped her head up against her hand, "The _sheriff's_ son was there. No one's looking at you." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Tara didn't respond and Leah took in a breath, "I'm sorry. It was just…"

"Stiles." Tara finished. Leah made a face and nodded a bit, while Tara let out a sigh, "Seems to be your excuse a lot these days."

"Uhm, because everything is always his fault." Leah scoffed. Tara gave Leah a knowing smile as she got up from the bed.

"Okay…Go to bed, Lele. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"How parentally cliché of you." Leah said with a grin. Tara rolled her eyes and grabbed a pillow, smacking Leah with it.

"No more going out to the woods in the middle of the night. Got it?" Tara pointed at Leah and Leah nodded in response.

"Got it." Leah said as she grabbed the pillow from her mom. Tara gave Leah an amused smile before exiting the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Leah rolled off of her bed, pushing to her feet and going over over to her window. Scott's light was still off. She let out a sigh and grabbed her phone from the window seat. Leah unlocked it and tapped on Stiles' contact name, hearing it ring.

The call went to Stiles' voicemail and Leah waited until the beep to open her mouth, "Listen up, Scott's still not home. Which means A. he's dead or B. he's dying. So if he's not at school tomorrow, I'm going to kill you….And I'll dream up a way to kill you because I'm too worried about my best friend being alive. So…be prepared. Bye."

Leah ended her call and tossed her phone on her bed, staring at it for a moment before she went over to her dresser. She quickly changed into a tee and a pair of shorts, tying her hair up into a bun. Flipping the lights off, Leah climbed into bed, hand skirting out to find her phone amongst the sheets and comforter. Once she found it, Leah unlocked it and tapped on Scott's name. It rang a couple times before going to voicemail.

"Scott? I hope to God you're okay. I'm _so_ sorry we left you out there. It wasn't my fau…you know what…I'm just really sorry. I hope you're okay. Hopefully see you tomorrow."

Leah ended the call and plugged her phone in as Webster jumped up onto her bed. "He'll be okay, Webster." She said as he curled up into a ball at the foot of her bed, "He better be okay." Leah mumbled as she rolled over onto her side, staring into the darkness.


	2. Welcome to Beacon Hills, Bitch

Leah's phone was ringing the next morning, startling her awake. Her thoughts instantly went to Scott and she scrambled to pick up her phone, "Oh, thank God, I was so worried." Leah said, pressing the phone to her ear.

 _"We don't talk for a couple days and you're worried?_ " Leah furrowed her brow at the voice that wasn't Scott's. She pulled her phone away from her ear and looked to see that it was Connor. Her brother.

 _"I mean, what are you going to do when I have finals and can't talk to you for a month?"_ He was still talking. Leah slumped down on her pillows, shoving a hand through her hair.

"Sorry, Connor. I thought you were Scott." She apologized, letting out a sigh.

 _"Scott? Why would Scott be calling you at…seven in the morning?"_ Connor asked. Leah blew out a breath, playing with her comforter.

"Because I may have left him alone in the woods last night after we went to try and find a dead body." She made a face, waiting for Connor's freak out.

And right on cue, Connor shouted out, _"You did what!? Leah, how could you be so stupid?"_

"Hey! It wasn't even my idea." Leah made a face, even though Connor couldn't see it.

 _"You can't blame Stiles for everything."_ Connor instantly responded back.

"I can and I will." Leah stubbornly said as she sat up in bed. Connor chuckled and she heard a door slam from his end, "Hey, why are you calling me at seven in the morning? Aren't college kids supposed to sleep till like noon or something?"

 _"Well, there's this thing called time differences. I'm ahead of you, remember?"_ Connor sighed, _"Plus I figured I'd call you before you went to school. Lacrosse tryouts are today, right?"_

"Yeah." Leah blew out a breath, "Yeah, they are."

 _"It's too early for you to be this excited."_ Connor dryly said, making Leah roll her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just…worried about Scott." Leah looked over to her window, leaning forward to try and see if anything had changed from the previous night.

 _"I'm sure he's fine."_ Connor reassured his sister, _"I gotta go, Lele. Call me after tryouts?"_

"Will do." Leah nodded to her before hanging up the phone.

Connor Kane was the eldest of the Kane siblings. He was a graduate student at the University of Delaware, studying history. Leah wasn't sure what he wanted to do after college with a History degree, but it was something that he loved and wanted to work on for the rest of his life. So she wasn't judging.

Leah hadn't seen her brother since the summer; his fall break didn't line up with hers. But she hoped he would come back for his winter break so they could see each other. The two were close and although the distance wasn't hard, it would be nice to have her older brother back home. Leah kept Connor up to date on everything he was missing at home—including Scott and Stiles and the family. The siblings were open with each other, trying never to lie or keep things from each other.

Leah pushed out of bed and went over to the window seat, pushing open the windows. She leaned forward, looking out at Scott's window. The lights were still off and Leah didn't see Scott moving around in his room.

Turning away from the window, Leah went over to the closet, pulling out a shirt before going over to the dresser to grab a pair of a jeans and a change of clothes for lacrosse tryouts. She grabbed her duffel off of the floor and threw it onto her bed, tossing in her change of clothes, her gear and her cleats before trying to shove her lacrosse stick into the bag. It fit, barely, the cradle was sticking out, but Leah was fine with that.

Leah dressed herself, shoving her feet into a pair of burgundy Vans. She slung her duffel around her shoulders and slipped her arms through her backpack straps. Going for her bedroom door, Leah grabbed a beanie and pulled it on with one hand as she reached to open her bedroom door.

The kitchen and living room were empty as Leah walked downstairs, searching for her parents. Her mom must have already gone to work while her dad was probably still on his shift. Leah screwed her mouth to the side, surveying the kitchen as Webster darted by, going through his food bowl. Leah followed, getting the cat food out and filling the bowl before taking his water bowl and filling it up. When she set it down, she made sure to scratch behind his ears.

"Wish me luck, Webster." She mumbled before standing up and taking an apple from out of the fruit basket.

Leah stuck it in her mouth so her hands were free to grab her skateboard from where it was propped up against the wall by the front door. Leah opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, closing the door firmly behind her.

Taking the apple out of her mouth, Leah went down the front steps, looking over to the McCall house as she went. She put her skateboard down and stepped on it, pushing off with her other foot, going towards the McCall house and adjusting her angle as needed. Connor had taught her and the boys how to skate when the three of them were younger. The boy stopped skateboarding when the three of them got to high school, trading it in for bikes before Stiles got his license and received his Jeep. But Leah kept at it because she didn't have a car and hated bikes—honestly, she was just lazy; coasting along on a board seemed better than actually having to exert any energy on a bike. Not to mention, the previous night, she had ditched her bike at the Preserve.

Leah started to eat her apple as she came upon the McCall house, leaning back to come to a stop. She saw Scott rolling his bike around of the side of the house and let out a sigh of relief. Leah kicked her board up and grabbed it in her free hand, running up to him.

"You're alive!" She crooned, throwing her arms around his neck. Scott laughed and rocked back to accommodate the fact that Leah had just tossed her entire being along with all of her gear at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alive." Scott was grinning as she stepped back.

"I told Stiles to go back but he was being a major—"

"Got it." Scott nodded at Leah. Leah rolled her eyes as Scott mounted his bike, the two of them walked back to the street, "I got your message too." He said as he waited for Leah to drop her board back down. Leah pushed off again, lining up with him on the street as he rode on the sidewalk.

"Why didn't you call me back?"

"You didn't ask me to." Scott shrugged. Leah gaped at him.

"It was implied! " Leah yelled out, "When you go missing in the woods, you usually call when you get home to let your best friend know that you're alive and not all chewed up!"

"Well, I'm kinda chewed up." Scott made a face. Leah looked over at him, eyes wide with fear and worry.

"What happened?" She asked, leaning back to slow to a stop as Scott stopped pedaling. He lifted up his shirt to show her a gauze pad on his side. It was blood stained and looked like a bite.

"Something bit you?" Leah asked, pushing back off to start slowly rolling forward. Scott nodded, putting his feet back on the pedals.

"Some type of animal or something."

"Like a wolf?" Leah asked eyebrows raising. Scott shrugged.

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Leah screwed her mouth to the side and skated a couple more blocks just eating her apple until she hit the core.

"Oh!" Scott's voice startled Leah a bit, "I found the other half of the body." He added. Leah made a face, doing a double take.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Yeah." He shivered at the memory "The top half."

"Oh my God!" Leah cried out, clapping a hand over her mouth, "That's fantastic! Did you tell Stiles?"

"Not yet."

"Yes!" She was happy Scott told her first and couldn't wait to see Stiles' face when he found out. Scott rolled his eyes at Leah's response, "Oh, he's gonna be so pissed." Leah laughed as the two of them turned down the street to get to the school parking lot. Leah kicked back off of her skateboard and reached down to pick it up. She shoved it under her arm and walked next to Scott, following him over to the bike rack.

"You telling me first kinda makes up for the whole not calling me back thing." Leah made a face. Scott rolled his eyes again.

Leah felt a car door slam into the back of her legs. She whirled around, ready to spew curses at the kid, but before she could say anything, Jackson Whittemore stepped out,

"Watch the paint job." He sneered out, giving a glance to both Leah and Scott before walking away.

Leah clenched her jaw and went to lunge at Jackson skateboard dropping from her hand, but Scott wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back, "Let me go, Scott!" Leah yelled out, trying to force her way out of Scott's arms, but he was surprisingly stronger than usual. Jackson smirked at her and watched her struggle for a moment before he walked away to meet up with some other guys on the lacrosse team. Leah slumped against Scott's arms and slapped them until he let her go.

"When did you get so strong?" Leah asked as she turned around to look at Scott. She reached out to squeeze his bicep, "You haven't been working out without me have you?"

"What? No. Why?" Scott made a muscle, "Do I look buffer?"

"No. You look just as scrawny and lean." Leah grinned at Scott, lightly punching him the gut before stepping back. Leah turned to look at Jackson's Porsche and crossed her arms over her chest. She reached down to pick up her skateboard and wound up, ready to smash the driver's side window in.

"Not worth it." Scott grabbed the skateboard from her hands and started to walk away.

"Hey! Don't throw that away like you did the knife. I need that." Leah hurried after him.

"I'm gonna keep it until you promise me you'll be nice to one person."

"Uhm, no." Leah made a face, "I don't think that's physically possible for me." Scott looked down at her, raising his eyebrows. Leah took in a breath, "Fine." She grumbled, "I promise." Leah held her hand out, waiting for Scott to hand her skateboard back to her.

"You ready for tryouts?" Scott asked as he placed his now free hands on his backpack straps. Leah sighed.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I'm excited."

"You should be. You know, like, everything." Scott moved his head around as Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"That's very true." She laughed a bit, "It's gonna be…interesting."

"There you are!" Stiles' voice called out as Leah watched him jog up to them, "I've been looking everywhere for you." They walked with him to a bench where Scott put his bag down.

"Why _the fuck_ are you wearing a blazer over a hoodie?" Leah asked, getting Stiles' attention.

"It's called fashion, Barbie. Something that you blondes should know all about." Stiles glared at her.

"Uh, what magazine are you reading? _Dorkhood 101_?" Leah asked, laughing a bit.

"Oh, where'd you get that beanie? Hmmm? The local hipster convention?" Stiles shot back.

"Can you two please go two minutes without fighting?" Scott broke into their argument.

"No." Stiles and Leah both said at the same time. They glared at each other for a moment before Stiles broke away, turning his attention to Scott.

"Let's see this thing." Stiles rocked back on his heels.

"See what?" Leah asked, looking to Scott.

"I told him about the bite last night." Scott explained. Leah gaped at him.

"You called Douchecanoe last night, but not me!?" Leah cried out, "Scott!"

"He asked me to call him!" Scott pulled his shoulders up, eyes wide.

"Yeah, Barbie, you gotta be specific in your voicemails." Stiles chimed in. Leah glared at him again, raising her skateboard up as a threat. She didn't get to do anything because Scott stepped in front of her, lifting his shirt up. Leah made a stink face as Stiles winked at her from over Scott's shoulder.

"Woah!" Stiles leaned in to touch it, but Scott flinched back.

"It was too dark to see much, but I think it was a wolf." Scott said as he picked his bag back up and slung it around his shoulder. Stiles chuckled as the three of them started walking towards the front of the school.

"No, not a chance."

"Heard a wolf howling." Scott explained.

"No, you didn't." Stiles shook his head. Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean _no I didn't_? How do you know what I heard?" Scott scoffed. Stiles laughed at Scott like he was stupid and walked a bit faster so he was in front of Leah and Scott before stopping their journey.

"Because California doesn't have wolves." Stiles explained, "Not in like sixty years."

"Really?" Scott asked, looking crestfallen.

"Yes, really. There are no wolves in California." Stiles moved about, trying to make his point.

"So what was it then?" Leah asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "A mountain lion?" Leah snorted.

"It was probably just a stray dog." Stiles rolled his head back, "I don't believe him."

"Then if you don't believe him about the wolf, you totally won't believe him when he tells you he found the other half of the body." She said with a smirk, popping her cheek out with her tongue as Stiles' eyes went wide and flicked from Leah to Scott as he jumped back a bit. Scott shrugged and Stiles made a flailing motion.

"Wha—Are you kidding me?" Stiles put a hand out to brace himself from falling into Scott.

"Nope!" Leah spoke up, "And he told me _first_." She grinned looking from Scott to Stiles.

"What!? You told her before you told me?!"

"Ha ha haha ha." Leah sang out with a grin on her face.

"Dude!" Stiles was annoyed, "How could you tell Barbie before me?"

"Because I have the decency to walk with my best friend to school, unlike some people." Leah let her eyes travel up Stiles' body. His jaw was clenched and he stomped his foot. Leah knew he was deciding on whether to fight her or ignore her and celebrate about the body.

"Oh God, that is freaking awesome." He chose the body. Stiles laughed a bit, "This is the best thing to ever happen to this town since…" His eyes traveled over Leah's shoulder, attention diverted by something—or rather someone else. "Since the birth of Lydia Martin!" He finished. Leah glanced over as Lydia sauntered up to them, curls bouncing, minions flocking her either side.

"Hey, Lydia." Stiles tried to get the Queen Bee's attention as she walked by, "You look...like you're gonna ignore me." He lamely finished as Lydia completely ignored him. Leah tried to contain her smirk as Stiles stomped his foot again and swung his head around to look at them.

"You know, you two are the cause of this." He pushed the blame of Lydia not noticing Stiles onto them, causing Leah to raise her eyebrows. "We got the asshole of Beacon Hills High—" He motioned to Leah, who flipped him off, before moving onto Scott, "And you. Dragging me down in your nerd depths." The bell rang, making Stiles turn, but his mouth kept moving, "I've been scarlet nerded by you."

"Oh, please. You can go jack off to pictures of her in your room after tryouts." Leah rolled her eyes as they walked up the stairs.

"Actually no." Stiles held up a hand, "You're disgusting, thank you. I respect Lydia. I'm not some psycho weirdo."

"Riiiiiight." Leah dragged out the word, "Cause harboring a crush on her since she gave you her green crayon in third grade isn't weird at all." Leah made a face, "Do you still have it? Keep it in a little box marked Lydia?"

"Go to hell." Stiles grumbled.

"Already here." Leah shot back, eyes wide. Stiles' jaw clenched and he stomped off down the hall to his locker.

Stiles Stilinski had been obsessed with Lydia Martin since the third grade, back when him and Leah were still friends. He loved Lydia- always got to school early so he could watch her walk into the building, hurrying to catch up with her and try and get her to talk to him. She never did, but Stiles never let up. He wanted to marry the girl and thought that she was the one. Leah didn't understand it. She was just a dumb popular girl. Or at least she acted like one, which Leah didn't understand for a second. But Leah wasn't obsessed with her, Stiles was.

"Leaaaah." Scott groaned, dragging her name out. Leah looked over to him, rolling her head back.

"Whaaaat?"

"Do you remember what we talked about? Being nice?"

"Yeah, to one person." Leah held up a finger, "You didn't specify which person." She pointed out as they came upon her locker. Scott rolled his eyes.

"See you in English." Leah waggled her fingers at Scott, who kept walking down the hall.

Leah dropped her bags on the ground and propped her skateboard up against the bottom locker so she could get to her backpack. Leah unloaded some notebooks she had brought with her for various classes, keeping a couple in her backpack for classes. She had hung up a picture of her and Connor alongside one of her and Scott with some various magnets she had found at Office Max. Leah stepped back and slammed the door shut, swinging her bag back around onto her back and picking up her duffel and skateboard.

The hall was loud and full of other students as Leah maneuvered her way through the screaming girls and the couples making out in order to get to the girls' locker room. She hated school with a passion; she didn't get along with most of her peers—something about her personality, which she thought was bullshit because she figured she was the realest person she knew. But she went to school because it was mandatory and took up most of her day, which then led to practice, then—depending on the day, she went to work and then she went home. Leah had her routine down pat.

The girls' locker room was quiet and empty as Leah pushed through the door. She went over to her locker and spun the combination, popping open the door so she could stuff all of her things in there. She slid her skateboard against the side of the locker before pushing in her duffel. The second bell was ringing as Leah closed the door, which meant she was late for homeroom, which was never a good thing. Especially on the first day.

Leah ran down the hall, hair flying out behind her and she slid to a stop in front of the door to homeroom, slipping a bit, but catching herself on the doorframe. Leah let out a breath as she tightened her backpack straps and stepped into the classroom.

"Miss Kane. How nice of you to join us." Mr. Harris droned out. Leah saluted him in response.

"Just making your day a bit brighter, Mr. Harris." Leah said as she fell into the first seat she saw. Mr. Harris just gave her a look before handing out a yellow piece of paper. Leah slumped down, letting out a sigh before pushing to her feet.

"Always a pleasure." Leah grumbled, taking the slip and walking out the door.

Leah trudged down the hall, itching her head for a second before looking down at the slip of paper. She hadn't even been in school for an hour and was already being sent to the principal's office. Some would call it a record.

Leah passed by Scott's homeroom and caught his eye, waving the yellow piece of paper in the air with an exaggerated grin. Scott rolled his eyes as the bell rang for first period and Leah waited for him to come out of his homeroom. Lydia marched out first, in all her glory, and then Scott came ambling out.

"How were you late?" He laughed at her, "You were with me the whole time. What'd you do? Go get coffee?"

"Mr. Harris just can't seem to appreciate all that I do for him." Leah sighed out.

"Oh, so that's how you got an A in Biology." Scott waggled his eyebrows, getting Leah to shove him.

"Shut up."

"I'll save you a seat in English." Scott promised as he ducked into the classroom. Leah grinned to herself before going up the steps, heading towards the office.

Leah leaned her body against the door, pushing it open and stepping inside. She walked up to the front counter to see Ms. Richards sitting on the other side. She glanced up and gave Leah a knowing smile as Leah leaned against the counter.

"Hey, Claire." Leah sighed out.

"What sort of trouble did you get yourself into at eight in the morning on the first day?" She asked as Leah handed her the yellow slip. Leah went for the candy jar as the receptionist read it over.

"How was your break?" Leah asked, making conversation.

"Good, relaxing." Ms. Richards nodded at Leah as she threw back a handful of MMs. "I'll tell him you're here."

"Thanks, Ms. Richards." Leah knocked twice on the counter as Ms. Richards pushed out of her chair and walked into the principal's office. Leah took a step back and slumped down against the wall, picking at her nails.

Minutes later, Ms. Richards came back out with the Vice Principal behind her. Leah waved at him as he gave her a chuckle. "I'm almost impressed, Miss Kane." He said as he stepped around the barrier.

" _Almost_? You mean somebody else did something worse than being late to homeroom?" Leah gasped, pressing a hand to her chest, "Do tell."

"Come with me, Miss Kane. I have a favor to ask of you." The Vice Principal walked towards the door, opening it for Leah, who waved goodbye to Ms. Richards before walking out into the hallway.

"Now, I know how much you love this school—" Leah snorted as the Vice Principal stepped out into the hall after her, "so I was hoping I could ask that you help out a new student." He cut straight to the point.

"And why would I want to do this?" Leah asked, squinting at him as they walked down the hall.

"Because I can either help or hinder your academic success, Miss Kane."

"Right." Leah nodded. "So you're basically blackmailing me." She made a face.

"Let's not get technical here." He said as they walked to the front doors.

"Okay, well, I guess I don't really have a choice do I?" Leah asked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Not really, no." The Vice Principal made Leah laugh and roll her eyes.

"Alright." Leah sighed, "Let's meet the newbie." The two of them walked down the front steps. There was a girl sitting on a bench, on her phone. She quickly ended the call as she saw the two of them coming up to her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The Vice Principal said as he reached out for her hand. The girl graciously stood up and shook it.

"Oh, it's okay." She said with a friendly smile. Her eyes darted over to Leah and Scott's words echoed in her head. emBe nice .

"Hi." Leah said, plastering a grin on her face and sticking out her hand, "I'm Leah."

"Allison Argent." Allison introduced herself with a firm shake of her hand. Leah tilted her head at the girl; she looked oddly familiar, but Leah couldn't place where she had seen her before.

"Allison, Leah is going to be showing you around our school. If you have any questions, you can come to her. Morning, afternoon, night."

"Woah, let's not get too crazy." Leah said, putting her hands up. Allison laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it early." Allison gave her a grin. Leah laughed a bit and glanced over to the Vice Principal, who looked ecstatic.

"Well, let's get you two to class." He said, once he saw an opening. Allison and Leah turned, following him back to the building.

"So your file says San Francisco is where you grew up." The Vice Principal asked, making conversation. Allison nodded as they walked, "Were you born there?" He asked as he held the door open for Leah and Allison.

"No, but we stayed there for more than a year which is unusual for my family." Allison explained as they walked down the hall.

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills is your last stop for a while." The Vice Principal commented as they came upon the English class.

"This is English." Leah nodded to the door, "Easy stuff. I think it's Metamorphosis this semester." She scrunched up her face as Allison nodded a bit.

The Vice Principal pushed the door open, stepping in before the two of them. Leah gave Allison a small smile as everyone looked up at the two of them.

"Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Do your best to make her feel welcome." Leah's eyes landed on Scott, who was staring at Allison. She licked her lips as Allison rocked back on her heels.

"Allison, there's a seat right there." Mr. Keals pointed to the seat behind Scott.

Allison looked at Leah, who motioned for her to go. Leah knew that was the seat Scott saved for her, so she quickly scanned the room before her eyes fell on a seat. Leah's jaw clicked as she moved over to the seat in front of Stiles.

"You've got to be kidding." She heard him mumble.

"Trust me, I didn't choose this." Leah whispered right back.

"I can literally smell all of the products and chemicals you use in your hair."

"At least I have hair." Leah shot back.

Stiles leaned forward to retort when Leah caught sight of Scott handing Allison a pen. Allison took it with a smile and Scott turned back around with a proud smile. Leah watched as Allison's reaction became puzzled, as if she didn't know why Scott had given her the pen, but she used it.

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page one thirty three." Mr. Keals droned out. Leah looked to Scott, then to Allison before sliding down and turning around in her seat.

"Leah." Scott hissed out. She looked over to him with raised eyebrows, "Can I borrow a pen?" Leah rolled her eyes, but reached into her bag for another pen. She uncapped it, tearing off a piece of paper and scribbling a message to Scott on it before sticking it in the clip of the pen and handing it to him. Scott unfolded the paper and read the message she wrote with a grin.

 _Before you give the new girl your pen, make sure you have one for yourself. Dumbass._

After English, Leah followed Scott to his locker, leaving Allison by herself, "Aren't you supposed to be showing her around?" Scott asked, glancing to Leah as they walked to his locker.

"I'm going by the _learning by doing_ technique." Leah said with a shrug. "Like when momma birds just toss their baby birds out of the nest and hope they fly." Leah motioned what she was saying.

Scott let out a breath, getting frustrated with his best friend. He loved Leah like a sister, he really did, but sometimes she was really, very selfish and it frustrated him.

"Besides, what do you care?" Leah continued, leaning against the lockers

"I don't know." Scott shrugged, "It just seems rude."

"Well, welcome to Beacon Hills, bitch." Leah said, quoting The OC as Scott grabbed his textbook. He glanced at her with an unamused look. Leah sighed and looked away from the disappointed Scott, letting her eyes wander.

"See? Look." Leah smacked Scott's arm, pointing to where Allison was standing, "She's fine. She did that all by herself." Leah gave him a grin as Scott looked over, shutting his locker. She watched as Allison looked over from her locker and gave Scott a smile. She felt her brow furrow as she looked in between the two, realizing what was happening.

"Oh no…" Leah started, only to be cut off by none other than,

"Awh, did you realize that Santa isn't real?" Stiles came up to them with a pout in Leah's direction. Leah made a face and opened her mouth to retort when some random girl came up to them.

"Can someone tell me how new girl has been here five minutes and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?" Leah leaned forward to see that the girl was right. Allison was ensnared in Lydia Martin's claws. She looked over to the girl and arched an eyebrow.

"Who the fuck are you?" Leah asked, "I literally have never seen you in my entire life."

"Cause she's hot." Stiles said over Leah.

"Oh, nice." Leah said, with an eye roll. "Way to judge based solely on appearances."

"It's true!" Stiles argued back, "Beautiful people hurt together." Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Then why aren't I over there?" She asked, leaning against the locker.

"Because you're a bitch." Stiles shrugged. Leah glared at him, "Name one person." He flailed a bit, "Name one person who you're nice to on a daily basis."

"Scott." Leah pointed to Scott. Scott looked over to them as if he was just tuning into their argument.

"What?" Scott asked as the bell rang. Leah rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, we have Chemistry." She grumbled. Leah heard Stiles groan after realizing that they all had Chemistry together.

As the three of them walked to their class, Leah felt her phone buzz. She reached into her pocket and saw that Connor had texted her. Leah opened up the text message, reading it to herself.

 _Find Scott?_

Leah glanced over to where Scott and Stiles were talking animatedly about something or other as they walked. Tapping out a response, Leah tried to explain what had happened earlier that morning as concisely as possible.

 _Yeah, he's fine. Said he was bit by a wolf, but idk how true that is, might have been a stray dog._

Connor started to type back before the bubble disappeared. Leah watched the screen again for a moment more to see if Connor was going to respond, but he didn't. Leah shoved her phone into her pocket and went into Chemistry with the boys, figuring she would talk to Connor later.

"Welcome to Chemistry." Harris droned out as the three of them came through the back door as the second bell rang. Leah headed over to the lab table with two empty seats. Stiles flopped down in front of them with the random girl from the hall. Leah looked around to see that Jackson and Danny were also in their class along with a couple other people she had occasionally seen before. Leah looked to Scott, who was doodling in his notebook.

"Please tell me you aren't writing _Scott Argent_ with hearts around it." Leah groaned a bit. Scott looked over at her, brow furrowed.

"No…I'm just doodling." Scott showed her the lines and random shapes he was drawing.

"Oh, okay." Leah made a face in return. Then she noticed he was still using her pen, "She never gave you your pen back, huh?" She asked, folding her arms on the table and leaning her face against them.

"Nope." Scott popped the p. "But it's okay. She needed a pen." Leah felt her brow furrow.

"How do you know that? She didn't even like say Oh do you have a pen?"

"Because I heard her talking to her mom about it."

"You what?" Leah asked, getting more and more confused.

"Miss Kane!" Mr. Harris shouted, making her jump and look at him, "Want to explain to me what our first lab experiment is going to be?"

"Uh, finding out how long it's been since you've gotten laid?" Leah asked, hearing Stiles snort from his seat. Scott tried not to smile as Mr. Harris glared at her.

"I know, I know." Leah raised her hands in the air, "Principal's office. Got it." She gathered up her things and let out a sigh. "I'm gonna say three, maybe four years." Leah said as she plucked the paper from his hand. Mr. Harris just continued to glare at her as she walked by him and out into the hall.

Leah walked down the empty hall, folding the slip into a little paper airplane as she walked. She let out a sigh and looked up to see Allison at the end, looking around a little bit lost, "Allison?" Leah asked, getting her attention. Allison looked to her and her face relaxed into an embarrassed smile.

"Hey, Leah." She said as Leah came up to her. "I'm soturned around."

"What happened to Lydia and Jackson?"

"Jackson had Chemistry and Lydia had English…I'm supposed to be in French, but…"

"They ditched you." Leah stated with a nod.

"Yeah, I mean, no...I thought I could find it by…myself." Allison sighed and scratched her temple. Leah gave her a small smile.

"Hey, give me your schedule. You're probably not that far off." Allison nodded and reached into her jacket pocket for her schedule. She handed it to Leah, who unfolded it, going to second period.

"Oh, you're really far off." Leah mumbled. Allison groaned.

"Great, I'm already late and it's only my first day." She blew out a breath.

"Morrell is pretty cool. She'll understand." Leah gave her an encouraging smile, "Come on, I'll walk you."

"Thanks." Allison laughed out a bit. Leah nodded, heading for the short set of stairs. Allison followed her, quiet as they walked.

"Hey." Allison said after a minute, "Are you, uh, going to Lydia's party?" She asked, looking at Leah. Leah let her mouth open a bit, trying to figure out how to answer.

"Uh, maybe." Leah settled on, "I don't know, it depends."

"Depends on what?" Allison asked, brow furrowing a bit.

"Depends on if I feel up to it." Leah said with a tight smile, "Lydia and I don't get along very well. Actually I don't really get along with anyone." She realized, looking up a bit as Allison laughed a little.

"Well, what about the guy you were standing with at the lockers? You look like you get along with him." Allison waggled her eyebrows, but there was something in her eyes that looked like disappointment. Leah chose to ignore the look, not feeling up to getting into a conversation about Scott. Instead she laughed a little and shook her head.

"Yeah, okay." Leah stopped in front of the French classroom. "This is your stop, Ally." Leah said, making a sweeping gesture with her arms, "Have fun."

"Thank you again." Allison smiled at Leah, "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, remember morning, afternoon, early evening." Leah got a laugh from Allison.

Allison nodded before opening the door to the classroom, stepping inside and letting the door close behind her. Leah tapped her fists together, pulling her lips down; she was mildly impressed with herself. She had done exactly what Scott asked—Leah had been nice and it was…weird.

* * *

Connor's phone buzzed on his desk and he glanced over to see the name on the screen. He pushed away from his work, reaching for his phone and answering it as he got to his feet.

"Hey Derek, thanks for calling me back…"


	3. Just An Adrenaline Rush

"Now, I'm impressed." The vice principal said as he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Twice in the same day." Leah shrugged and threw back another handful of M&Ms from Ms. Richard's desk into her mouth.

"What can I say?" She asked around a mouthful of M&Ms

"And it seems that it's all because of a certain Chemistry teacher." The vice principal continued, folding his hands in front of him. Leah stayed silent. "According to the slip, you weren't paying attention and then insulted his sex life."

"Or lack thereof." Leah mumbled under her breath, glancing away from the vice principal as he slid the slip back to her.

"I have to say, Miss Kane, this is a new one for you. Especially considering your brother and all his achievements in this school." Leah looked up at him and felt her eyes narrow.

"Well, we aren't talking about my brother. We're talking about me, right?"

"Right." He sighed, refolding his hands in front of him, "You know I'm going to have to do something about this."

"What? Detention for a week? Just lay it on me." Leah settled back against the chair, letting her arms drop over the arms of the chair in a relaxed manner.

"No lacrosse." The vice principal said with a little uptick of his chin. Leah felt her jaw drop.

"Excuse me?!" Leah shouted, pushing forward in her seat, "You—you can't do that!" She sputtered out, not knowing how to argue her point

"Yes, I can, Miss Kane." The vice principal sat back in his seat, folding his hands on his lap, "You've shown me that you obviously can't handle the responsibilities that come with being on the lacrosse team."

"What?! This is t—total—bullshit!" Leah slumped back in her seat, "You can't forbid me from trying out." She grumbled, looking away from the the vice principal.

"And why not? You were late this morning, you ditched Allison, and then proceed to make crude sex jokes about Mr. Harris' sex life." He counted off each one with his fingers. Leah felt her jaw click she shook her head a bit. The vice principal looked at her as Leah gathered up her thoughts, trying not to explode.

"What am I supposed to do then?" She asked after a moment, looking back at him, "I've been practicing all break. There are _no_ responsibilities for the lacrosse team. All you have to do is show up, practice, show up to the games, and keep your GPA higher than a two point zero. And if you read from my transcript, I've done all of that." She stared at the vice principal, daring him to retort. When he didn't, Leah continued, "I'm sorry about Allison. I was wrong in ditching her just like I was wrong with Harris." Leah paused and slid forward on her seat, raising a hand, "But for the record, I showed Allison to her French class because she was so lost. If it wasn't for me she still probably be…" The vice principal cut her off with a look, "Please, please don't take away lacrosse." Leah licked her lips and sat back in her seat again for a moment, watching the vice principal.

The vice principal studied her for a moment, letting Leah think the worst, before he sighed. He reached out and picked the slip up, glancing at it for a moment before looking back at Leah.

"Fine." He gave in, much to Leah's surprise. Leah let out a small cheer, only to be cut off by the vice principal again, "But!" He stopped her cheering, "You are on probation. You can go to tryouts, but you are on the bench until further notice." Leah weighed her options, making a face before agreeing with the vice principal.

"Yes. Totally. Completely. One hundred percent." Leah bobbed her head in a nod, grinning at the vice principal. "Thank you." Leah let out a sigh of relief, shoving a hand through her hair as she reached down for her backpack.

"No more sex jokes." The vice principal pointed at her and Leah nodded in response.

"Yes, sir." Leah saluted him as she got to her feet, turning and hurrying out of his office before he could take back his decision.

Leah let the office door shut behind her as she walked out into the hall. She went down the steps as the bell rang, becoming engulfed in fellow students as they all hurried to their lockers and various classes. Leah spotted Scott among the crowd and elbowed a few people to get to him.

"Hey!" Leah grinned at him, getting Scott to look down at her.

"There you are!" Scott returned the smile, "I thought you were suspended or something."

"Nah, they could never get rid of me." Leah made a face, "And I wouldn't go quietly."

"Very true." Scott nodded as they walked into the cafeteria for lunch. "So? Did you get detention?"

"Worse." Leah grimly said as they got into line, "I'm on probation."

"Probation from what?" Stiles butted his head in, getting into line behind Leah. Leah glanced over her shoulder at him.

"From lacrosse." She miserably said, waiting for Stiles' gleeful reaction.

She didn't have to wait long; Stiles immediately reacted, face breaking out into a wide smile as he grinned at Leah before looking at Scott.

"Wow, that's—that's some well deserved karma if I ever saw it."

"Stiles…" Scott warningly said, not wanting the two to fight again.

"Uhm, no it's not!" Leah scoffed.

"Oh, yes it is." Stiles started to explain as he took a basket of chicken fingers out from under the hot lamps and put it on his tray, "The universe hates you so much that it took away the only thing you really cared about because you're a bitch."

Leah glared at him in silence as she paid for her lunch. Stiles laughed to himself as he took in Leah's reaction while Scott, who was a few steps away, did a double take and watched as Leah stared at Stiles before she flipped his tray over, making all of his food that he had just paid for, spill onto the floor.

"Awh, what the hell!?" Stiles cried out as Leah cocked an eyebrow at him and walked away. "This is _exactly_ what I'm talking about!" Stiles yelled out after Leah, getting a middle finger in response. Stiles let out a huff before he dropped to his knees to help Scott pick up the food.

Leah walked out of the cafeteria with her tray of food. She sat down on the wide window ledge, putting her tray in front of her so she could reach out and eat her food.

"Leah?" Leah looked up at the sound of Allison's voice.

The new girl was standing above her, looking down at Leah with an amused expression, "What are you doing?"

"…Eating lunch?" Leah answered, waving a chicken finger in the air for emphasis. Allison gave a little laugh.

"No, I can see that, but why aren't you eating in the cafeteria?"

"Oh! Because I'm mad at someone and I don't want to see them." Leah made a face and Allison nodded.

"Understandable." She scrunched up her features and shrugged, "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Oh, no, go for it." Leah motioned to the space across from her.

Allison dropped her backpack on the ground and pulled out a brown paper bag lunch. She folded herself on the window ledge and grinned at Leah again.

"How's your day been?" Leah asked, trying to make conversation and put in a little effort.

"Uhm, good. I mean, I just came from French. Thanks again for helping me find it." Allison talked as she reached into her paper bag, pulling out an apple.

"Yeah, no problem." Leah nodded.

The girls sat in silence for a moment before Allison spoke up again, "Hey, so, Lydia invited me to watch the lacrosse tryouts with her after school." Leah raised her eyebrows as she looked up at Allison, "I was wondering if you wanted to come with." Allison offered.

"I would, but I'm actually trying out for the lacrosse team." Leah shrugged as Allison's eyebrows went up.

"Oh, seriously?"

"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm on probation, but I can tryout so…"

"Might as well." Allison finished for her. Leah nodded and Allison grinned at her, "I think that's really cool."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, girl power, you know?" Allison waved around her apple.

"Anything boys can do, we can do better." Leah grinned at Allison as she gave a little laugh in response.

The rest of the lunch period, the girls chatted about Allison's time in San Francisco and about Leah's opinions about Beacon Hills. They began to learn a little about each other and for some reason, Leah was happy Allison was so easy to talk to, but she was confused about why Allison chose to try to be friends with her.

The bell rang, causing the girls to gather up their trash as students streamed from the cafeteria. Leah spotted Scott and Stiles coming out; Stiles was animatedly talking to Scott and Scott glanced over to her. Leah gave him a little wave and Scott caught sight of Allison, quickly looking away and back at Stiles. Leah rolled her eyes at his antics; he obviously had a crush on Allison.

"So I'll see you at tryouts?" Allison asked, getting Leah's attention.

"Yes." Leah nodded, "I'll be the girl."

"Got it." Allison laughed a little. She got off of the window ledge and gave Leah a little wave before disappearing into the crowd of people.

The rest of the day passed by without incident and soon Leah found herself heading to the girls' locker room to get changed for tryouts. The girls' locker room was just as quiet as it was in the beginning of the day. No one used it unless there was a gym class going on. Leah wasn't allowed to get changed in the boys' locker room for obvious reasons, but she didn't really mind. It gave Leah the chance to be alone and gather her thoughts before going to the boys' locker room or out to the field.

Leah exchanged her regular bra for a sports bra and pulled on her under armor before shimming into her shorts. She sat down on the bench to pull on her socks and cleats, her helmet was at the bottom of the bag and she quickly braided her hair, flinging it over her shoulder, pushing her baby hairs back with some hair tape. Her regular clothes were shoved into her backpack and put back into her locker.

The sound the locker door made when Leah slammed it shut echoed around the empty room. Leah grabbed her lacrosse stick and helmet, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder as she walked back out to the hall. The hallways were emptying, some going to watch the tryouts while others went home. Lacrosse was a pretty big deal at Beacon Hills High, so it was no surprise that most kids followed Leah out to the field to watch the lacrosse tryouts.

Leah climbed up the hill, spotting two familiar bodies. Scott and Stiles were a little further ahead of her and got to the field before her. She let out a breath as her bag dropped from her hand, next to the bench.

"What's up sluts?" Leah asked, getting the boys' attention. Scott grinned at her while Stiles gave her the stink eye.

"Aren't you on probation?" Stiles asked, "Why are you here?"

"Kane!" The three of the them heard their coach, Finstock, yell out. All of them looked up to see him storming over. The boys stepped back as he came over, leaving Leah front and center to receive Finstock's anger. Leah pulled on her pads as Finstock got to where she was standing.

"What's up, Coach?" Leah asked, tilting her head to the side, her hands on her hips.

"Wanna tell me why I was told to bench you?"

"Not really." Leah shrugged and made a face, "I'm just here to try out, Coach."

"Right. Well, you're first so….let's go!" He blew the whistle in Leah's face, who grinned at him.

"My pleasure." Leah looked over to Scott, who gave her a thumbs up. Stiles still had a stink eye look on his face. "Watch and learn, boys." Leah said before pulling on her helmet.

She jogged out to the center of the field, the rest of the players lining up behind her. Leah dropped her stick to the ground so she could yank her gloves up over her hands before picking the stick back up.

There were a few whistles and catcalls as Leah rolled the lacrosse stick in her hands. Leah smirked to herself; knowing it was her fellow teammates giving her a hard time. She looked around the bleachers, eyes landing on Allison and Lydia climbing up to an empty bench. Allison caught sight of Leah and gave her a little wave.

"First tribute, eh?" Leah heard from behind her along with feeling the slap of someone's hand against her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to see Danny smirking at her.

"Gotta set the bar low so we can feel better about ourselves." Jackson quipped as he walked by. Leah's eyes narrowed at him.

"We'll see about that." Leah said under her breath.

"Oh, leave her alone." Kyle Farris, a junior, quipped out. Leah turned to see him walking to get into line, "She's ten times better than you'll ever be, Whittemore. And more good looking." Kyle added as an after thought. Leah rolled her eyes as Kyle winked at her.

"Kane!" Coach's voice made Leah turn back around. "We haven't got all day!"

"The princess just needs to make sure her manicure isn't ruined." Jackson called out from behind her.

"Hey, Jackson, shut up!" Leah said, over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows at him before turning and falling into a crouch. She straightened out of her crouch as she realized that Scott was in the goal. His hands were tight around the goalie's stick and Leah could tell he was a little nervous.

Leah shook her head and crouched back down; it didn't matter, Scott's stance looked ready and it would be just like when they were practicing over the break. Leah blew out a breath and kicked off into a run. She scooped up the ball in her cradle and flicked her wrist, sending the ball flying, right to Scott.

The ball thwacked against Scott's helmet, making him stumble back. Leah's eyes went wide and she brought her gloved hand to cover her mouth on instinct. There were laughs around the field as Scott shook his head, disorientated. Leah dropped her stick and ran over to the goal, ready to apologize to her best friend.

"I'm _so_ sorry." Leah hurriedly said as she got to him.

"I'm fine." Scott quickly responded, "It's okay."

"You looked ready!" Leah cried out, raising her shoulders up as she defended herself.

"I got distracted." Scott shook his head, "I'm okay, Leah." His eyes met her. "Seriously." Leah stared at him, doubtful, before Finstock's whistle made her jump a bit.

"Kane! Get your ass out of the way!" Leah nodded and reached out to pat Scott's shoulder before drawing her hand back.

"Leah!" Finstock hollered, sounding like he was going to pop a vocal chord.

"Okay! I'm going!" Leah put her hands up and turned away from Scott.

"Your boyfriend's fine, Kane!" One of her teammates called out as she walked back to where she dropped her stick.

Leah grabbed it and rolled her eyes at the comment before going over to the bench. She pulled her helmet off and slumped onto the bench, letting her helmet drop to the ground as she yanked off her gloves for the time being.

"Nice going." Stiles mumbled out. Leah slammed her fist into his shoulder before remembering he was wearing pads.

"Ow! Fuck!" Leah cried out, shaking her hand out. Stiles gave her a smirk, which Leah quickly wiped off his face by using her other hand to jab him in the throat, making him choke.

"Jesus!" He coughed out, making a noise. Leah smirked at him as she continued to shake her injured hand out.

Leah felt a tap on her shoulder and looked around to see Allison giving her a timid smile, "Hey, sorry. But, uh…is the goalie really your boyfriend?" She asked. Leah stopped shaking her hand out and looked to Scott just in time to see him catch a ball. She was a little thrown, forgetting Allison's question as Scott caught another ball.

"Uh…." Leah started blinking as Scott caught yet another ball. "Holy shit." She whispered. And then Leah saw Jackson force his way to the front of the line, stopping Kyle from going.

"Hold on." Leah held up a finger and watched intently as Jackson scooped up a ball and started running towards Scott. Her eyes darted from Scott to Jackson then back to Scott as Jackson threw the ball at Scott.

Scott deftly caught it and a second later, cheers erupted from the crowd. Leah let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in order to cheer for her best friend. "Yes!" Leah jumped to her feet, clapping her hands together. "Go, Scott!" Leah said, cupping her hands around her mouth. Stiles was cheering just as loud,

"That is my friend!"

"My friend too!" Leah yelled out.

Stiles glared at her and Leah made a face back at him before returning her eyes to the field as Scott tossed the ball to the referee. She couldn't stop smiling as the cheers died down and the boys went off to do different drills for tryouts. Leah picked up her helmet and stick, turning back to Allison, a bit breathless from all the cheering.

"I'm sorry, what did you ask me?"

"I was wondering if the guy in the goal was your boyfriend." Allison gestured to where Scott had been standing moments before.

"Oh, uhm—"

"Kane!" Kyle yelled out, getting Leah to look over her shoulder at the boys on the field, "Come on! We need one more and Stilinski is opting out."

"It's my decision!" Stiles yelled back, "I know my worth!" He made a face as Kyle shook his head at him. Leah turned back to Allison, who raised her eyebrows.

"Scott isn't my boyfriend." Leah pointed her helmet at Allison. She threw her arms out as she walked backwards for a moment before turning around and jogging out to the field.

After running around the field and doing drills for another hour, Coach let them go with a reminder about the elimination round on Friday. Leah jogged over to the side bench, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, wincing a bit. She was sore from all the drills and getting knocked down multiple times.

"Hey, Stiles and I were gonna go out and look for my inhaler." Scott breathed out as he jogged up to Leah. He began to pack up his gear as Leah glanced over to him, just noticing that he hadn't had his inhaler during tryouts.

"Wait, you lost your inhaler?" Leah asked, standing up a bit straighter, "Scott, how are you still standing?"

"I'm fine." Scott shrugged, "I don't feel winded or anything."

"You needed your inhaler after you climbed into my room." Leah stared at him, "And that's like three feet."

"Leah, I'm good. I feel great." Scott bounced on his toes as she eyed him warily.

"So why do you need to go searching for your inhaler if you've been miraculously cured?" Leah asked, hiking her duffel on her shoulder.

"Because the thing's like eighty bucks." Scott pointed out.

"Good point." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Meh, I don't know." Leah shrugged, "I need a shower first. So, I'll text you?"

"Good job out there today." Scott nodded at her, "And I forgive you. For the whole hitting me in the head thing."

"That was partially your fault." Leah pointed her lacrosse stick at him, "So…I…forgive you." Scott grinned at her.

Leah felt someone shove themselves between the two of them and she was forcefully moved to the side as Stiles stepped up, "Dude!" He looked to Scott, "You were incredible." Scott grinned to himself and looked down.

"Leah was pretty good too." Scott looked to Leah, who gave him a grateful smile.

"Eh." Stiles shrugged, brushing Leah off, "But those saves!" Stiles laughed, " _So_ making first line." He grinned at Scott before patting his shoulder again and running off.

"Idiot." Leah rolled her eyes. "He barely made it through the sprints. And opted out of three of the other drills." Scott laughed as they got to the locker rooms.

"But he sure enjoyed knocking you down during the two on ones." Scott pointed out.

"Oh, really? I had no clue." Leah made a face as Scott rolled his eyes.

"You had just as much fun blocking him, don't lie."

"Never got him to the ground." Leah grumbled, hiking her duffel up on her shoulder. Scott shook his head and patted her shoulder. He bid Leah goodbye and they went their separate ways; Leah went into the girls' locker room while Scott went into the boys'.

Leah stripped out of her gear and pulled off her under armor, letting them drop into a pile as she turned on the crappy locker room shower. She stepped under the low pressured shower head and let the dirt wash off of her body from being knocked down countless times. She could take some of the boys when they hit her, but Jackson and Stiles both got the most joy from knocking her to her ass as often as they could.

Lacrosse was a sport Leah got into because her brother played it. Connor was the star lacrosse player all throughout high school and Leah remembered going to countless games with her family while she was growing up. She would practice with him when she was younger, Scott right next to her. Connor taught them everything they knew.

Then Leah begged her parents to let her try out with Scott for league teams. Tara and Drew were wary, as all parents would be, but eventually gave in after Leah gave a presentation about why she should be allowed to play.

When Leah hit high school, she tried out for the team right along with Stiles and Scott. There was no rule against it because there wasn't a gender specific noun in front of lacrosse. It was just lacrosse. There was nothing anyone could do but be annoyed. Finstock didn't care; he just wanted a full team. The other guys were wary at first, just like her parents. They wouldn't hit Leah as hard until Leah hit them first. Once they saw that she could match them and even started beating a few of them during sprints and other drills, they became a little more rougher on Leah, treating her as an equal.

Leah made second line in freshman year with Scott and, unfortunately, Stiles. They went to every practice and every game, just in case the team needed more players, which they didn't. Leah didn't even step on the field for a game in freshman year. She hoped her sophomore year would be different, but like Stiles had pointed out—the universe had other plans.

When Leah had finished showering, she pulled on her clothes that she wore throughout the day. She repacked her duffel and grabbed her skateboard from the locker before heading out to the empty hallway. Everyone had gone home, except for some of the lacrosse senior guys, who were meandering around the hall, talking about tryouts. Leah gave them a tight smile as she passed, receiving nods in response.

Leah managed to rearrange her backpack and her duffel back on her body like she had them earlier in the morning. She set her board down and stepped on, pushing off with her other foot and skating down the hallway. It was a smoother ride than she was used to and it was nice to just glide along without angling to avoid cars or sticks or other harmful things of nature.

Once she got to the front door, Leah kicked off her board and pushed open the double doors to see that Scott had already left. Leah let out a breath, hurrying down the steps and getting back on her board, skating towards home.

* * *

Classical music welcomed Leah home as she walked through the front door, which meant her dad was home and cooking. Leah glanced at her phone, seeing it was almost five, and there were no new texts from anyone. She maneuvered out of her bags, letting them drop to the floor as Webster scampered up to her. Leah reached down to pick him up, walking into the kitchen as she scratched behind his ears.

"Lele!" Drew cheered as Leah walked into the kitchen, "How were tryouts?" Leah put Webster down and went around to where her dad was mixing up a salad. He kissed her cheek as she walked up next to him to survey the salad.

"Good." Leah nodded, picking out a crouton. "Really good, actually."

"Good enough for first line?" Drew asked, swatting at her hand as Leah reached for a cucumber. Leah popped the crouton in her mouth and raised her eyebrows, not saying anything and letting her dad come to his own conclusions, "That's great! Proud of you."

"Mhm." Leah nodded as she walked away from Drew. "Mom home?" Leah asked, changing the subject.

"Soon." Drew nodded, turning to pick up a cookie sheet that had three chicken breasts waiting to be marinated.

"Don't marinate hers remember?" Leah reminded him. Drew gave her a thumbs up and nodded, "Also, don't make me any, I'm going out with Scott to look for his inhaler that he dropped last night." Leah said as she picked Webster back up from the floor.

"Mom said you said Scott wasn't there." Drew raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

"I didn't say _where_ we were going to look for it." Leah said, making her eyes wide. Her dad tried not to smile at her.

"Be careful." Drew said, going back to cooking dinner.

"Always am." Leah grinned at him before turning on her toes and walking from the kitchen.

"And make sure you put your lacrosse stuff out to air!" Drew yelled after her.

"Got it!" Leah yelled back, going to the front hall to get her duffel. She slung it over her shoulder and went to the kitchen door, still cradling Webster. Leah dropped her bag and set Webster down so he could sniff at the plants. She laid out her gear on the porch, propping her lacrosse stick up against the railing.

"Let's go, buddy." Leah mumbled out nudging Webster to go back inside the house. Leah followed, shutting the door behind herself. She walked back through the kitchen as Drew's classical music played and he hummed along. Leah smiled to her as she walked up the stairs to her room, Webster scampering after her.

Leah nudged her bedroom door open with her hip and looked up, only to jump in surprise. Scott was lounging on her window seat, texting on his phone.

"Jesus, Scott." Leah breathed out, getting his attention.

"Sorry, the window was open. I just got here." Scott pushed up into a sitting position before getting to his feet. He went over to pet Webster, only to have Webster hiss at Scott, baring his teeth before scampering under the bed. Scott and Leah shared a look before Leah dropped to her knees, going over to her bed.

"Webster?" She asked out, pulling up the bed sham. Leah looked under to see Webster curled in a ball, staring at her. "Web, it's just Scott."

"Hey, buddy." Scott cooed as he dropped down next to Leah. Webster hissed again and lunged for Scott. Scott barely had time to pick his head up as Webster shot out from under the bed.

"What the fuck?" Leah whispered, getting to her feet. Scott did the same, except he stayed where he was while Leah moved towards her cat.

"Webster." She cooed before making a little noise and rubbing her fingers together, "Webster, come here, buddy. It's just Scott." Leah managed to corner Webster and pick him up in her arms. Leah turned to Scott and grinned as she scratched Webster behind his ears. "Just Scott."

Scott came up a bit closer, reaching out to pet Webster. In response, Webster wrenched out of Leah's grasp, meowing over and over before hissing and scratching at Leah to let him go.

"Webster! What the fuck, dude!" Leah cried out as she dropped him. Webster didn't even look back as he scurried out of the room. Leah looked to Scott, who looked crestfallen.

"Wonder what got in his catnip." She mumbled as she went over to her bed, rubbing her hand where Webster scratched her.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, coming to sit next to her. Leah showed him her hand and shrugged.

"Not the worst of my wounds from today. I have blossoming bruises from a certain Douchecanoe." Leah sighed and fell back against her bed, staring up at her ceiling. Scott looked over to her and gave her a small smile before he looked to the door where Webster disappeared.

"I wonder why he did that." Scott mumbled.

"So weird." Leah agreed.

Scott and Webster had always had a pretty good relationship. Scott had come with Leah when she had gotten Webster and more than once, she had found Scott cuddling with Webster, even falling asleep with him once or twice. They were buddies, so it was strange for Webster to be acting out at Scott and scratching Leah.

"Are you coming with us?" Scott asked after a moment. Leah looked over to him, resting her hands on her stomach as she scrunched up her face.

"As much as I love Stiles…" She trailed off. Scott rolled his eyes, "I'll come."

"Really?" Scott brightened up a bit. Leah nodded, pushing up on her elbows to look at her best friend.

"Yeah. God knows Stiles won't help you find it."

"Hey…!" Scott started before slumping down and choosing not to fight. Leah patted his arm as she pushed herself up into a proper sitting position.

"Come on, let's go." Leah waved her hand to motion for Scott to follow her. She walked out of her room and went down the stairs, Scott following her.

"Dad, Scott and I are going." Leah said, sticking her head into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mr. Kane." Scott waved at Drew, who lifted his wine glass in the air at Scott.

"Scott." He took a sip, "How many times have I told you to call me Drew?"

"I don't know. A lot." Scott shrugged. Drew chuckled.

"Be home in an hour." Leah's dad pointed at her. She nodded, giving him a thumbs up; she had work in an hour and a half and was sure it wouldn't take more than an hour to find Scott's inhaler and get home.

There was an incessant amount of beeping to announce Stiles' arrival. Leah closed her eyes and let out a slow breath only to open them and find Drew trying to hide his smile behind his wine glass. Leah rolled her eyes and spun around, stomping off to the door as Scott followed behind her.

"Bye, Scott." Leah heard Drew say as she rummaged through her backpack to find her phone. There was a stream of new texts from Stiles telling her not to come and how much she sucked at tryouts. Leah sighed and cleared the screen as Stiles continued to beep.

"He's gonna blow his horn out." Leah muttered as Scott came up to her, opening the front door. She followed him out to where Stiles' Jeep waited. Leah could clearly see him pressing down on the horn over and over again.

"Would it kill him to be less annoying?" Leah grumbled as Scott pulled the passenger side door open.

The beeping ceased as Scott slammed his door and Leah opened hers. She barely had time to shut the car door because Stiles decided to slam his foot down on the gas, making the Jeep, lurch forward.

"Fucking ridiculous." Leah sighed as she braced herself against the passenger seat.

She looked to see Stiles' smirk in the mirror as he started the drive to the preserve. Leah slumped against her seat and scrolled through her phone as Scott and Stiles talked about where exactly Scott lost his inhaler.

The drive was short and it was luckily still light out when they got to the preserve. Leah hopped out of the Jeep and shoved her hands into her pockets as she ambled after the boys. They had moved onto the lacrosse tryouts, talking about Scott's performance.

"I think you should just go for goalie." Leah said, making a face as she hopped onto a fallen tree log, "I mean, you caught every shot."

"Except for yours." Scott said, shooting a grin over his shoulder.

"That's because I think Barbie was maybe aiming for your head." Stiles made a motion with his hand, "I'm telling ya dude, she's out to get you."

Leah shoved Stiles from up on the log, making him stumble a bit as he laughed at her, "Shut up, Stiles. You weren't even that good."

"I'm not trying out for first line. I am perfectly okay with sitting on the sidelines." Stiles pointed to himself. Leah rolled her eyes, "But I did enjoy knocking you to the ground. That was fun." He bobbed his head.

"And I will enjoy watching you sit on the bench during Saturday's game while I score the winning goal." Leah shot back.

"No, ya won't!" Stiles sputtered out, "Probation. Remember?" Leah made a face as she jumped through the shallow creek turning to look at the boys.

"Whatever. I can still watch Scott and his amazing overnight abilities that seem to just have appeared." Leah waved her hands around in the air.

"Yeah, man, what was up with that?" Stiles asked as he stomped through the creek after Scott. "I mean, it was awesome, don't get me wrong…"

"I don't know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball. And I can hear, see and smell things that I usually wouldn't be able to." Scott walked in front of Stiles, wanting to catch up to Leah.

"You can smell things? Like what?" Stiles asked, following behind Scott. Leah pushed a lone branch aside and looked over her shoulder as Scott turned to face Stiles.

"Like the three day old mint mojito gum in your pocket." Scott said. Stiles furrowed his brow and stopped walking.

"I don't have any—" Stiles reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of gum, "Huh." Stiles said before shaking it off and unwrapping it.

"Oh please don't…" Leah started, but Stiles popped the gum into his mouth and chewed. Leah grimaced as Scott turned back around to keep walking.

"And you can hear things like Allison talking to her mom?" Leah asked as Scott ambled up to her.

"Yeah, she was on the phone with her. That's how I knew she needed a pen." Scott said. Leah felt her brow furrow.

"Maybe it was whatever bit you." Leah shrugged as Stiles pushed in between her and Scott.

"What if it's like an infection? Like my body is flooding with adrenaline right before I go into shock or something?" Scott looked at Leah, leaning forward a bit with wide eyes full of worry. Stiles put his hand out to stop them from walking any further.

"You know what? I actually think I've heard of this." Stiles said, "It's a specific kind of infection." Scott stopped and looked at Stiles, still worried, while Leah gave Stiles an unamused look; he was being his usual sarcastic self and Scott sometimes, almost always, never caught on until it was too late.

"Are you serious?" Scott asked, right on cue. Stiles smirked, hands on his hips

"Yeah, I think it's called lycanthropy." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod. Leah looked to Scott, crossing her arms over her chest. Scott probably had no clue what lycanthropy even was.

"What's that? Is that bad?" Scott asked, confirming Leah's assumptions.

"Scott, it's—" Leah started to reassure Scott that Stiles was just being a little shit, but Stiles placed his hand over her mouth.

"Oh yeah. It's the worst. But only once a month." Leah licked Stiles' palm, making him drop it from her mouth.

"Once a month?" Scott asked, still not getting it.

"On the night of the full moon." Stiles said. Scott furrowed his brow. Then Stiles let out a howl. Scott promptly shoved him and continued to walk through the forest.

"Idiot." Leah said, looking to Stiles and following her best friend. "Lycanthropy is just something made up for movies."

"Hey! You're the one who heard a wolf howling." Stiles said, holding his hands up and coming after them.

"Yeah, but there could be something seriously wrong with me!" Scott cried out.

"I know! You're a werewolf!" Stiles cried out, falling behind Scott as he walked. Stiles growled and made his hands into claws.

"Scott, don't listen to him." Leah said, shaking her head, "Obviously it has nothing to do with the bite and it's probably just an adrenaline rush." Leah's phone started to buzz in her pocket, causing her to stop walking.

"Let's move it along, Barbie. We got inhalers to find." Stiles said from behind her. Leah rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone to see Connor was calling.

"I'll catch up." Leah said, flashing the phone to Scott so he could see Connor's name. He nodded to Leah.

"It's right around here, I swear." He nodded again. Leah gave him a small smile as she answered the call and placed her phone to her ear as the boys started to walk away.

" _Hey, sis!"_ Connor said before Leah even said hello.

"Hey, Connor." Leah smiled to herself, going over to lean against a tree.

 _"How were tryouts?"_

"They went really well. You should've seen Scott though. He was like twenty times better than when we were practicing over break."

 _"So you're both making first line then."_ Leah pulled in her bottom lip; she didn't want to tell Connor about the probation— he would just overreact and yell at her.

"Well, that's the goal." Leah finally settled on.

 _"That's great! I'm really proud of you, Leah."_ Connor paused, _"So tell me everything. How was Stiles? And what his face, Jackson?"_

"Both hit me pretty hard, but Stiles is going to be second line and Jackson's still captain."

 _"For now. Did you hit them back?"_

"Tried to." Leah smiled to herself. "Scott did a lot of goalie work and he caught _literally_ every single ball, Con. It was amazing."

" _Hey, listen, I'm glad Scott's okay and felt well enough to make it to tryouts."_ He paused, _"How's the bite?"_

"Uh, healing, I think. I haven't asked him." Leah made a face, making a note to ask Scott if he was going to get it checked out, "I think he's still on a bit of an adrenaline rush, which was probably why he was so amped up today. Stiles went and worried him by talking about how he could be a werewolf since he heard a wolf howling and everything." Leah let out a sigh, "He's such an idiot sometimes." Connor hummed in agreement.

Leah looked out to where the boys had disappeared to; she didn't want to get too far behind them, "Hey, Con, I gotta go. We're looking for Scott's inhaler. And Stiles practically dragged Scott away from me to like lose me in the woods or something." Leah exaggerated a bit.

 _"Be careful._ " Connor reminded his sister, " _And get out of there before dark. I don't need you to be the next body found."_

"We will." Leah nodded to herself, "Later."

 _"Bye, Lele."_

Connor hung up with his sister and let out a breath. Leah was oblivious, as usual. Not that he blamed her; after the incident with Cora, Leah didn't remember anything that concerned the Hales or what she saw. Connor felt bad for keeping her in the dark, but at the time, he knew that it was necessary. Now, he wasn't so sure.

Connor and Derek had grown up together, becoming friends before high school began. Derek let him in on the family secret, making him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone and Connor agreed. Since Tara and Drew were working most nights, Leah sometimes stayed over with Connor at the Hale house, being babysat by Derek's older sister Laura and playing with his younger sister Cora. But Leah didn't remember any of it.

And when the fire happened, Derek and Laura disappeared without a word. Connor didn't hear from his friend for months and Leah didn't remember anyone named Derek or Laura or Cora—Tara and Drew attributed it to shock and Connor went it it, since he couldn't tell them what actually happened. A few months later, Derek resurfaced, telling Connor what had happened and how he was on the run with his sister.

Connor went on with his life, looking at his town through new, tired eyes. Every couple years, Connor received short updates from Derek, telling him he was okay. Connor thought it was all over, that the fire had, unfortunately, taken care of the supernatural beings in the town. It did, for a few years, long enough for Connor to make it through high school, stop worrying about his sister finding anything out, and move across the country to begin a new life.

Then Leah texted him about Scott being bit. Connor immediately thought to contact Derek, to see if he was back in town, which he was, and if he knew anything. Derek didn't know anything concerning Scott, but agreed to keep an eye on him if he could, even though it was probably nothing.

But his phone conversation with his sister, gave him enough to become worried. He went to his inbox, pulling up his conversation with Derek Hale. He composed a new message, quickly typing out _I'll be home in a few days. Continue to keep an eye on Scott for me._

There was a knock on Connor's apartment door, getting him to exit out of his messages. He left his phone on his desk as he went to answer the door, leaving it next to a picture of him as a teenager, standing in the middle of Derek and Paige, all of them smiling.

* * *

"Look who decided to show up fifteen minutes late." Stiles mockingly said as Leah found the boys. They were walking towards her, "Did you bring Starbucks?"

"Did you find your inhaler?" Leah asked, ignoring Stiles' crack as she directed her question to Scott.

"Yep." Scott opened his palm to reveal his inhaler all in one piece.

"Did you use it yet?" Leah asked, looking up at Scott.

"Nah, I'm good." Scott made a face, "Come on, I'm gonna be late to work."

Leah let her eyes dart over to Stiles for a quick second to see he had an uneasy look on his face. But then he noticed Leah looking and the expression was replaced by raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

"What? You finally realizing my godlike physique?" He asked. Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"If you're a god, then you must be Hades." Leah shot back.

"Ruler of the underworld? Sure." Stiles easily shrugged and walked past her, "I'll take it." Leah rolled her eyes and followed after him, walking next to Scott as they got out of the Preserve.

Scott had Stiles to drop Leah off at work first and Stiles begrudgingly obliged, seeing that it was on the way to Scott's job at the vet. Leah was early, for once, and she went over to the gas station to grab a drink and a snack. A light rain had started as she hurried over to VIDEO 2K to work the five hour night shift.

As the only movie rental store in town, Leah would think it would be busier, but there were only two other people, one in the morning and another guy who worked with her at night. All Leah did was sit behind the desk and do homework, checking someone out once in a while the other guy, Mike, did shelving and stuff. Sometimes they switched, depending on the night and how hung over Mike was from his night before. It was a boring job, but it paid semi-decently so Leah wasn't complaining.

Leah walked through the aisles, going for the horror section as she ripped a Twizzler in half with her teeth. She chewed on one half as she reached for the classic _Wolfman_. Stiles' words from the conversation in the woods, echoed in the back of her mind, but she didn't linger on them, figuring he was just being a dumbass.

Leah didn't have time to stop home—nor would Stiles have agreed to stop back at her house before, so she didn't have her school work with her, which meant she was stuck with nothing to do behind a counter for five hours. Her dad had texted her asking her if she wanted him to drop off dinner on the way to his shift, but Leah declined, taking a picture of her "healthy" dinner.

The bell above the door dinged as someone walked into the store. Leah didn't even look up from her phone as she bit down on another Twizzler; she didn't have to do anything until the person came up to the front to check out, which was inevitable.

"Leah?" Leah heard a familiar voice ask. She looked up to see Allison smiling at her, "I didn't know you worked here."

"How could you? You _just_ moved here." Leah said back with a tight smile. Allison nodded at her.

"Right. Yeah." She laughed a little, "Sorry." Leah shrugged as Allison handed her the movie.

"Did not take you for an action movie girl." Leah said, making a face as she looked at the title. Allison laughed again.

"Yeah, most people don't." She quipped out Leah scanned the movie and waited for the price to come up. "I didn't take you for a lacrosse player."

"Yeah, most people don't." Leah repeated her statement giving her a smile, "It's gonna be three dollars." Leah said, handing Allison the movie as she handed Leah the money. Leah rolled her lips in and took in a breath before looking up at Allison, "I'm—I'm sorry I ditched you today." Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah and Leah shifted a bit, "I'm not…good with people."

"No, you're not." Allison laughed at Leah. Leah made a face, taken aback by her frankness, but she quickly got over it.

"Thanks for your honesty." Leah said, eyebrows quickly raising as Allison smiled at her. "And about Scott…I, uh, think you should go for it."

"Oh, no, I don't—"

"Ally." Leah fixed her with a look, "Scott's a good guy. He's my best friend and honestly, you can't really do much better in this town." Leah shrugged, "I'd date him, but I've seen some unfavorable things."

"Like what?" Allison asked, eyebrows raising.

"I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to kill you cause Scott would kill _me_ if I told _you_." Leah said with a small smile. Allison laughed a bit.

"Right, gotcha." Allison nodded, "I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

"If I survive this shift." Leah sighed. Allison smiled at her and then looked to the television.

"Well, at least you have the Wolfman to keep you company."

"Is it still raining out there?" Leah asked. Allison nodded and Leah made a face. Allison laughed a bit at her reaction before shaking her head.

"You did really well at tryouts today." Allison gave her a small smile.

"Awh, thanks, Ally." Leah grinned at her, "Now I just gotta get through the elimination round and then I'll pray."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed." Allison smiled at Leah, "Thanks for the movie."

"Thanks for distracting me for a bit."

"Anytime." Allison nodded at Leah, "Have a good night."

"You too." Allison turned away and a moment later Leah heard the door chime again to signal Allison's exit. And once again, she was alone with the Wolfman.


	4. Partying with a Werewolf

Friday morning, Leah woke up to the sound of someone jumping into the pool. She opened her eyes, seeing that Webster was on her chest and staring intently back at her. She lifted her head a bit and untangled her arms from the covers to move him off of her body.

"Sorry, Webster, can't eat me today." Leah said as she placed him next to her in order to sit up in bed. Leah sat up in her bed as she heard her dad's voice,

"LEAH!"

It sounded like he was outside so Leah rolled over, sliding open the window that her bed was under. She stuck her head out to yell back, "What!?"

Drew was watering the plants that were littered around the deck, his back was to Leah, focused on the pool.

"Dad! What is it?" Leah called down, getting her dad's attention. Drew looked over his shoulder and up to where Leah was looking down at her. He gestured vaguely to the pool and Leah followed his line of vision to see Scott bobbing in the middle of the pool.

"Scott?" Leah called out, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Morning!" He waved at Leah as he treaded water. Scott watched Leah tilt her head at him in confusion before pulling her head back into her bedroom, shutting the window. Scott started to swim over to the edge as Drew turned off the hose.

Leah quickly hurried down the stairs, running through the kitchen and getting Tara's attention, "Morning, honey." Tara said as Leah hurried past her, "What's going on?" She asked, following Leah.

"Scott's in the pool!" Leah cried out as she opened the back door. "Scott? What are you doing?" Leah hurried past her dad and went to the edge of the pool, wrapping her arms around her middle as she crouched down. Scott grabbed onto the ledge and looked up at Leah.

"I—I have no idea." Scott looked just as confused as Leah was, "I think I slept walked."

"Honey, let him get out of the pool." Tara said from behind Leah. "You two have school." Leah nodded as she looked over her shoulder at her parents. She turned back to Scott and took in a breath,

"Come on." She motioned with her hand, "I'm not helping you out. You might pull me in and I can't swim." Scott sighed as Leah straightened out of her crouch, stepping back as Scott pushed himself out of the pool.

"Here." Drew handed Leah a towel which she promptly wrapped around Scott's shoulders, rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to get him warm. He was only in his boxer briefs, no pjs in sight.

"You okay?" Leah asked as Scott tightened the towel around himself.

"Uh, yeah." Scott nodded, sounding unsure, "I'll meet you in front of my house in a few minutes?" Leah nodded, stepping back as Scott walked past her, going out the gate and walking over to his house.

Leah chewed on her bottom lip, watching Scott disappear into his house, before she turned and walked back up onto the porch. She gathered up her lacrosse gear, shoving it into the duffel and walking back into the kitchen. Her mom was at the counter, making breakfast, and she looked up at Leah's entrance.

"Everything okay?" She asked as she scrambled up some eggs.

"Yeah, I think so." Leah nodded, "He thinks he slept walked over here."

"Always thought Stiles was the sleepwalker." Tara mused as she dividing the eggs onto two bagels, wrapping one of the sandwiches up in aluminum foil.

"Stiles was a sleepwalker?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Tara nodded as Leah let her duffel drop, sitting down on one of the stools.

There was a file folder on the counter, which Leah dragged over with her finger so it was sitting in front of her. She started to open it before Tara slapped her hand away from the folder.

"Nice try." Tara said with a serious look, taking the folder away from Leah. She turned away and placed it by the sink before wrapping up the second sandwich in the foil.

"How's the baby? Did you take your multi vitamins this morning?" Leah asked, cocking an eyebrow as her mom sighed.

"Leah you're not the one having the baby, I am." Tara said, looking over at Leah. Leah made a face, extending her arms out.

"I'm just making sure everything's good." Leah put hands up in her defense, "You have three more months and I just want to make sure everything's just fine." Leah said, sitting back,

"I know what I'm doing, Leah." Tara said as she turned, "I had you, didn't I?"

"Good point." Leah made a face, "I'm pretty great." She said to herself. Her mom laughed a bit and tossed Leah the breakfast sandwiches. Leah caught each of them as Tara's cell rang.

"Deputy Kane." Tara answered it before pausing, "Yep. Got it right here…" She turned to the folder that was resting by the sink. Tara turned back to Leah and made her eyes wide, motioning to Leah to get out of the kitchen. Leah put her hands up and gave in. She got off the stool as Tara turned back to file.

"Right, well we can't ID the body until we get the other half…" Leah picked up her duffel, slinging it over her shoulder and picked up the breakfast sandwiches, turning away from her mom and slowly walking away. She didn't want to miss anything about the body.

"I'll put out calls to animal control." Her mom said, sounding like she was finishing up the call. Leah quickly walked away, not wanting to be caught lingering. She dropped her things by the front door before taking the stairs two at a time to get to her bedroom.

She shut her door and went over to her closet, pulling out a shirt and a jacket before grabbing a pair of worn in jeans and some workout clothes for the elimination round. Leah quickly dressed and grabbed her phone and backpack, walking out of her bedroom. She walked down to the front door, shoving her change of clothes into her duffel and quickly texting Scott that she was ready to go. She slipped her feet into a pair of Adidas as Scott texted her back that he was almost ready.

"I'm leaving!" Leah yelled out.

"Okay!" Tara yelled back from the kitchen.

"Good luck with lacrosse!" Drew yelled from upstairs.

Leah sighed and picked up all of her things, making sure she had everything before grabbing her skateboard and the breakfast sandwiches. She managed to get the front door open and stepped outside, closing it behind her. Dropping her skateboard, Leah stepped on it, pushing off to coast down the front walk, turning the corner and heading towards Scott's house. Melissa McCall was getting out of her car as Leah rolled up to the McCall house.

"Leah." Melissa warmly greeted her as Leah slowed to a stop.

"Hi, Melissa." Leah gave her a small smile.

"Waiting for Scott?" The nurse asked, motioning to the front of the house. Leah nodded, glancing to the house, silently sending a message to Scott telling him to walk out of the front door right then.

"How was your shift?" Leah lamely asked back, as it became clear that Scott didn't get the message. Leah was never good with adults; they didn't really like the younger Kane girl. No one wanted their kid hanging out with a girl who cussed and played dirty.

"Good. Long. I'm going to go watch all of my DVR." Melissa laughed and Leah tried to match her laugh before they lapsed into an awkward silence. Melissa looked Leah over before nodding to herself.

"Well, it was good to see you, Leah." She said, taking in a breath. Leah nodded

"Uh, yeah, you too." Leah lamely returned the sentiment, "Enjoy your DVR." Melissa nodded at her and stepped by her, walking into the house. Leah watched her open the door, Scott stepping out at the same time. Melissa gave her son a quick kiss, the two of them exchanging words before Scott walked down the porch steps.

"Thank God." Leah sighed out as Scott walked over to her, grabbing his bike from where it lay on the front lawn. "I'm like eighty-eight percent sure your mom hates me."

"She doesn't hate you." Scott instantly replied back, "But that was a super awkward conversation." Leah handed him a breakfast sandwich as he got to her.

"You heard us?" Leah gaped at her best friend, "Wh—Why didn't you save me!?" She sputtered out, waving her hands around as she rolled forward on her board.

"I was getting dressed." Scott shrugged.

"You were in your bedroom? You heard us talking, out here, from your bedroom." Leah stated. Scott nodded as he mounted his bike.

"Is this still happening? All the heightened senses?" Leah asked, pushing off the sidewalk to follow next to Scott on her skateboard.

"I think so." Scott glanced at her, "And remember what happened with Webster?" He asked. Leah held up her scratched hand.

"Vividly." She dryly said.

"It happened again! I was at work last night and I went to feed the cats and all of them started hissing at me." Scott's eyebrows were raised as he told his story. Leah felt her brow furrow and she glanced over to her best friend,

"Super weird." Was all Leah could say. "How's the bite? Did you ever get it checked out?"

"It's totally healed!" Scott slowed down at the corner.

"Wait, what?" Leah leaned back to stop at the corner, "Let me see." She motioned at Scott, making him lift his shirt up.

There was no sign of the bloodied bandage that Leah had seen the day before. In fact, there was no sign of the bite mark. It had completely healed.

"Scott, what the hell? Did you take something?" She asked, looking up at Scott. He dropped his shirt down and shook his head.

"No, I have no idea what happened." Leah screwed her mouth to the side and pushed off the sidewalk, starting towards the school.

The two travelled in silence for a few moments before Scott spoke up again, "Oh, Allison stopped by too."

"What? Why?" Leah glanced to him.

"She hit a dog on her way home and brought him in."

"And…?" Leah prompted, raising her eyebrows at her best friend.

"And I ended up asking her to Lydia's party." Scott gave her an innocent smile.

"You dog, you!" Leah grinned at her best friend, "Using a hurt puppy to get ahead. I can't believe it."

"Well, I did it, so." Scott shrugged. Leah shook her head and gave him an amused smile,

"Proud of you."

"Are you going tonight?" Scott asked, looking hopeful.

"Uh, no probably not." Leah shook her head, "Tara has off tonight, so we might do something." Scott's expression dropped, but he quickly recovered, changing the topic.

"How is your mom?"

"Good." Leah nodded, "She thinks she has this down pat, but it's been like sixteen years since she's had a kid so…"

"It's weird, right?" Scott crinkled up his nose, "I mean you're sixteen years older than your unborn sibling."

"Let's not talk about it." Leah raised a hand as they got to the school parking lot.

"Think about it, he—or she, will be like super young when you get married."

"But think how Connor feels." Leah pointed to Scott, "He's even older."

"That's so weird." Scott made a face, "But I think it's gonna be good." Scott bobbed his head as they went over to the bike rack.

"We'll see." Leah sighed. "You ready for the elimination round?" She asked, changing the subject as Scott locked up his bike. Scott nodded as he hiked up his backpack, falling into step next to Leah as they walked towards the school.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"If you play like you did yesterday, you're totally making first line." Leah commented, rolling her head back as they walked into the school.

"We'll see." Scott said before the two went off in separate directions.

This time, in order to not be late to homeroom, Leah went to the girls' locker room first. She shoved all of her stuff into her locker and shut the door, only to see Allison behind it. "Jesus!" Leah jumped, eyes fluttering in surprise.

"Sorry! Sorry." Allison instantly put her hands out as she apologized.

"What _the fuck_ , Allison?" Leah breathed out, letting her forehead rest against the cool metal of her locker.

"I saw you heading in here and I—I wanted to talk to you." Allison said, twisting her fingers together as Leah glanced at her.

"About what?" Leah asked, lifting her head off of the locker.

"About…Scott." Allison finished, looking nervous.

"Uh, okay." Leah was a little surprised, "I have to get to homeroom, but we can walk and talk…I guess." She placed her hands on her backpack straps. Allison nodded and gave Leah a smile as she headed out of the locker room, Allison following her.

"So, uh, what do you want to talk about?" Leah asked, scratching her temple.

"Oh, uhm, well last night I was driving home and I went to change the song on my iPod." Allison glanced at Leah to make sure she was paying attention, "And then I hit this dog and I was freaking out so I took it to the vet—"

"So that was the dog." Leah cut her off, mostly talking to herself. Allison looked a little confused, but she quickly composed herself.

"Yeah, he wrapped up the dog's leg and gave me one of his shirts." Allison let her bag swing off of one shoulder so she could reach into her bag. "And I was wondering if you could give this to him." She held out the shirt to Leah, who looked at the shirt and then back at Allison.

"Are you insane?" Leah asked. Allison look confused. "Why would I give it back to him?" She continued.

"Cause you two are friends?" Allison's statement sounded like a question. Leah blew out a breath through her nostrils as she made a face.

"You don't have to give the shirt back." Leah shook her head, "And if you do, _I'm_ not going to give it back, _you_ are."

"In English?" Allison asked.

"Tonight." Leah leaned forward a bit, "At the party…which you are going with him…" Leah moved her head a bit. Allison smiled to herself, looking down at the shirt to hide it.

"He told you?" She asked, sounding kind of embarrassed.

"Of course." Leah gave Allison a look and Allison swung away from Leah, biting on her lip,

"Hey, are you coming tonight? To Lydia's?" Allison asked, swinging back to look at Leah. Leah made a face and shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"Leah, please come." Allison started, "It'll be fun, I swear. And I want someone there who knows Scott and can, like, help me." Allison looked hopeful.

"Well, Stiles will be there." Leah said giving her a tight smile. Allison's face fell and Leah felt something shoot through her: the exact same thing she felt when they left Scott out in the woods. Guilt.

"Fine." Leah said, rolling her head back and stomping her foot. "I'll come, I guess." Leah rolled her eyes. Allison instantly brightened up, "But I'm not gonna be happy about it."

"That's what the alcohol is for." Allison pointed out. Leah made a face and nodded.

"True. Right, yeah, I forgot that parties usually include alcohol." Leah looked away from Allison before shaking her head, "Okay, I seriously need to go. Harris will find any reason to give me detention." Allison let go of Leah's wrist and nodded, almost bouncing.

"I'll see you in English." Leah carefully said to Allison's nod. She turned away from the girl and walked into homeroom, sitting down the seat closest to the door.

Leah didn't know where she was in friendship spectrum with Allison. She was never good with girls and never had any girl friends. She was too outspoken, said fuck too much and would rather be on the field than watching. Leah was much more comfortable with being by herself or with just Scott.

It was weird with Allison though, it was like she was trying to be Leah's friend. She'd never had anyone do that before and it kinda threw her off. Allison was a nice girl and she could see being friends with her, but Leah didn't know exactly how to go about it. Leah was sort of afraid she would scare Allison away.

The bell rang after last period and Leah collected her things from her desk, shoving them into her bag as she looked around the room. She made her way to the girls' locker room, going through the her routine before she headed out to the field, climbing up the hill before the boys. She got to the bench and dropped her stuff down, pulling out her gloves as Finstock blew his whistle. Looking around herself, she heard before she saw Stiles and Scott.

"Scott!" Stiles shrieked, voice hitting an octave. She glanced over her shoulder as Scott came up to her, giving her a head nod as a greeting. Leah returned it as Stiles ran up to them, fumbling over himself to get to them, "Scott! Wait!"

"I'm starting the elimination round. Can't it wait?" Scott asked, looking at Stiles as he started for the field. Leah went to do the same as she reached down for her lacrosse stick. Stiles pushed Scott back, forcing him to wait.

"The fiber analysis came back from the lab in L.A." Scott stopped paying attention, motioning to Leah with a jerk of his head to come out onto the field with him, "They found animal hairs on the body!" Stiles tried to keep Scott from leaving. Scott shook him off and ran out onto the field. Leah took a couple steps forward, ending up next to Stiles as he flailed about.

"No! Wait! Scott, you aren't going to believe what the animal was!" Stiles faltered as Scott left him. "It was a wolf." Stiles finished.

"A wolf, eh?" Leah asked, rocking back on her heels and crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced at Stiles, "Didn't he say something about getting bit by a wolf?" Leah let her furrow, "And didn't someone say something about lycanthropy? Maybe he's a werewolf." Leah made her eyes wide as she mocked Stiles. Stiles did a double take, looking from Scott back to Leah then back to Scott, paling slightly.

"I—I didn't—It was a joke…" Stiles rubbed his hand over his mouth, other hand on his hip, "Oh my God." He whispered out as Finstock blew his whistle again. Leah scoffed at Stiles' reaction before running out onto the field to join up with the rest of the team.

Leah forced her way to the front and tossed her braid over her shoulder as Finstock stopped blowing his whistle. She glanced around the group, smirking to herself before returning her gaze back to Finstock, who was starting up his pep talk.

"You got a question, McCall?" Coach suddenly asked. Leah looked to see that Scott's hand was raised and there was a puppy dog grin on his face. Leah followed his line of vision to see Allison climbing up onto the bleachers. The corner of her mouth twitched up at the realization and she glanced back at Scott, who was looking back at Finstock.

"What?" Scott asked, blinking.

"You raised your hand, do you have a question?" Finstock asked, stepping closer to Scott.

"Oh! No…I was just, uh, nothing sorry." Scott glanced to Leah and she gave him a thumbs up and made a face, mouthing, real smooth.

"Okay." Finstock moved on, "You know how this goes. If you don't make the cut, you're most likely sitting on the bench for most of the season." He nudged one of the freshman, "You make the cut, ya play!" He looked at Leah, eyes bright with excitement. Leah grinned at him, "Your parents are proud." He tapped her, "Ya girlfriend loves ya!" He grabbed onto one of the defensemen's helmet and shook it, "Huh! Everything else is…" Finstock stopped in front of Scott, "Cream cheese." He turned back to the group, "Now get out there and show me whatcha got! Come on!"

Leah let out a cheer with the rest of the guys, as they riled themselves up. They were split into two teams, red and black, and while the whoops and hollers went through the air, they separated on either side of the field. Leah was in a red pinnie, which meant she was on a team with Scott. Leah bounced on her toes and went over to front right, crouching down into position as Jackson and Scott took the center.

The ball was dropped and Jackson instantly got it, scooping it up and tossing it to his team member. Leah pushed out of her crouch and went to block him as he tried to go around her. After a little dance around each other, Leah ended up slamming him back and knocking him down. Leah grinned at him for a moment before helping him up. He tossed the ball back and they reset.

Throughout the scrimmage, they moved around positions. At one point, Leah was tossed the ball, easily catching it and she moved forward, trying to get to the goal. Someone came at her with their lacrosse stick, but Leah dodged it. She saw Scott standing open and with a flick of her wrist, Leah sent the ball flying perfectly into his cradle. Scott stared at it for a moment before looking at Leah.

"Go, you idiot! Run!" Leah hollered out, getting Scott to move.

Scott went around one of the defensemen, but two more came up against him. Scott dodged one, but Jackson came and slammed him down to the ground. Leah grimaced as the whistle blew. She felt her temper flare as Jackson walked off, going into his buddies with high fives and bro-hugs, but she took in a deep breath, trying not to react as she jogged to the center, facing off with Jackson.

"Just cause your brother was first line, doesn't mean you will be." Jackson sneered as they set.

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that." Leah said, winking at him. Jackson let out a huff as the whistle blew.

Leah managed to scoop up the ball and she went running, leaving Jackson still in his crouch as she scanned the field for an open teammate.

"Scott!" Leah yelled before tossing the ball to Scott.

Scott easily caught it and took off, avoiding all of the defense as they came running to him. He was light on his feet and his movements were fluid, Leah couldn't help but stop and watch.

Then Scott proceeded to flip over the line of defensemen, sticking the landing before he shot the ball into the goal. Danny wasn't ready and completely missed, reaching for it a second too late.

"Yes!" Leah cheered, jumping up and down as Scott turned back to his team.

He put his arms up in the air as the team went to go celebrate with him. Finstock blew his whistle as the crowd cheered along. Leah glanced to Jackson, who was glaring at her, so she put her arms out, walking backwards as she shrugged.

"McCall!" Finstock yelled out, ending the celebration, "Get over here!" Scott pulled out of the group hug thing and went over to Finstock. Leah ambled over, pulling off her helmet as she went.

"What in God's name was that?" Finstock asked out, looking disgusted. Leah held her helmet under her arm as she watched the exchange. "This is a lacrosse field. What are you doing…trying out for the gymnastics team?" Scott looked a little surprised.

"No, no Coach." Scott answered with a slight shake of his head.

"What the hell was that?" Finstock asked as he pointed to the field. Scott glanced at Leah and then looked back to Finstock.

"I—I don't know. I was just trying to make the shot." Scott pointed to the goal with his lacrosse stick.

"Yeah? Well, you made the shot and guess what?" Finstock asked, "You're starting, buddy." He clapped Scott on the shoulder. Leah's jaw dropped as a look of surprise came over Scott.

"Ya made first line." Coach explained further as if it wasn't clear.

He grabbed Scott's shoulders and shook him gently before walking away. There was a massive grin on Scott's face and Leah instantly bounded over to him, throwing her arms around him.

"Oh my God!" Leah cried out as the people in the bleachers cheered, "This is amazing!" Leah stepped back, stopping herself, "Oh, shit. Am I allowed to hug you?"

"Why wouldn't you be allowed to hug me?" Scott asked her, the grin still on his face.

"Cause of a certain someone." Leah sang out, fixing his pads for him. Scott laughed and then hugged her again. Leah stepped back first and lightly punched his jaw, "Oh, I gotta tell Connor." Leah grinned at him, "I'll be watching you on Saturday and remembering back to the days where we used to run drills with him."

"Hey, we still got an hour of tryouts left. You still have time to make it." Scott reminded Leah, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Yeah, well, thanks to the lovely administration, this'll be the only time I'm stepping onto the field." Leah gave him another grin before stepping by him to get to the sidelines.

Everyone was still on their feet except for Stiles, who was rubbing his hand over his mouth again and staring at Scott, the uneasy look from the woods back on his face. He didn't look very happy at all.

Leah ambled over to Stiles and sat on the bench next to him as the team ran another drill, "Can't even be happy for your supposed best friend, can you?" Leah asked. Stiles looked at her.

"I am happy for him."

"I don't see a smile, didn't hear your stupid that's my friend! And you were the only one still sitting." Stiles didn't answer her, just continued to watch Scott dominate the field.

"Maybe I'm worried."

"Thinkin the fame is gonna get to him? Make him go crazy?" Leah asked with wide eyes, twirling her finger by her temple.

"Not the fame…" Stiles trailed off.

"Wow, that was very vague, thank you."

"Stilinski! You're up!" Coach barked, waving Stiles onto the field before blowing his whistle. Stiles heaved a sigh before getting to his feet to walk out onto the field.

After they finished the elimination round, Coach gathered everyone up to call out the names for first line. Stiles didn't make the cut, but Jackson did as did Danny and a couple of the other guys. Leah's name was never mentioned. She headed to the locker room as the others talked about Lydia Martin's party that was happening in a few hours. She tuned out as much as she could, regretting agreeing to go to it.

There was no one in the house when Leah got home, except for Webster, who was perched on his spot at the window, watching her as she walked up the front walk. Leah pushed through the front door and dropped her bags, kicking off her shoes before picking her duffel back up and walking to the deck where she laid out her gear.

Her phone was ringing as she closed the kitchen door. Leah reached into her pocket, expecting to see Connor's name on the screen, but was confused when she saw Stiles' name instead. Leah hit ignore and shoved it back into her pocket, heading back to the foyer to pick up her backpack; she was planning on doing homework until the last possible moment before leaving for Lydia's party.

Leah got to her room and her phone rang again. She glanced to see it was Stiles and once again she hit ignore, tossing it onto her bed, going for her desk. Leah settled into her desk chair and pulled out her textbooks. She heard her phone ringing again and pushed out of her chair to look and see it was yet again Stiles. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed her phone, hitting ignore and setting it on the desk.

Trying to focus on her homework, Leah put her phone on vibrate. She opened her History book and began to outline the chapter when her phone buzzed. This time Leah didn't even look at the screen; she knew exactly who it was. She answered it and shoved it in between her ear and shoulder.

"Do you call everyone this many times or am I just a special case?" Leah asked as she scooted forward.

 _"Well, considering I really only call like three people, I would say you are a special case."_ Connor's voice answered back.

"You have got to stop doing this." Leah breathed out, doodling on her notebook. Connor laughed.

 _"Expecting Scott again?"_

"No, Stiles." Leah mumbled. Connor made some sort of noise.

 _"You guys have started talking now? On the phone? Soon your mouths will be busy doing other things…."_ He started making kissing noises. Leah gagged in response.

"Please shut up before I stab myself with my pen." Leah flipped her pen around in her fingers so the point was facing her. She mimed doing it, even though Connor couldn't see.

 _"Okay. Okay."_ Connor chuckled, _"So how were the eliminations?"_

"Oh my God, Connor, you should've seen Scott. I swear, I don't know what's happened to him but somehow he just—he flipped over the defense to score."

 _"I bet Coach loved that."_ Connor chuckled.

"Obviously." Leah rolled her eyes and smiled a bit. The siblings fell into a bit of a silence before Connor spoke up.

 _"And how'd you do?"_

"I was pretty good." Leah nodded to herself, "Yeah…"

 _"You didn't make first line, did you?"_ Connor asked. Leah cringed and looked around her room.

"Uh, Coach is doing this new thing where he's letting us know on Monday." Leah scoffed, trying to play it off, "So none of us know. But I have a pretty good chance."

 _"You don't sound so sure."_ Connor sounded like he was doubtful.

"No! I am!" Leah laughed, trying to play it off "I am. I just…I've been a little distracted since Scott got bit the other night in the woods." Leah paused, "I asked him about the bite and it's completely healed, Connor. He's got all these heightened senses and the stuff he's telling me…I'm just a little worried." Leah tapped her pen against her notebook, speaking the truth. Connor was quiet for a moment.

 _"I'm sure he's fine."_ Connor said, trying to sound normal as he lied to his sister, _"Keep me posted about first line, okay?"_

"Yeah…" Leah trailed off, "Yeah, I will."

 _"Okay. Love ya."_

"Love ya too."

Connor bid goodbye to his sister and let out a slow breath, rubbing one hand over his head as he went into his recent calls, tapping on Derek's name.

"Hey…it's healed." Connor said after Derek answered the call. "And it's a full moon tonight."

 _"I'll take care of him."_ Derek's voice came over the line.

"Don't _take care of him_ like kill him. Actually take care of him." Connor emphasized, "And make sure Leah's safe."

 _"I will. I swear."_

"We can talk more when I get home."

" _Sounds good_."

"Derek—" Connor started only to be cut off by his friend,

" _It wasn't me._ " Derek seriously said, _"Laura's still the Alpha, but she hasn't been answering my calls, which is why I'm back in town."_

"Is everything okay?" Connor sat up a bit straighter in his chair, getting worried.

 _"I'll keep you posted."_ Derek didn't elaborate on what he knew—or rather didn't know, _"I'll take care of Scott and Leah."_ Connor nodded to himself.

"Thank you." Connor paused, "But remember—"

 _"I know."_ Connor didn't have to remind Derek. _"I have to get going."_

"Okay, yeah, I'll talk to you later." Connor took in a breath, "Stay safe tonight."

 _"Always am."_ Derek let out a huff and Connor couldn't help by laugh a little bit.

The pair hung up with each other and Connor opened up his laptop, typing in his hometown into the Google search bar, clicking on the news tab. There was a feeling deep inside of him that history was about to repeat itself.

* * *

"Leah!" Tara's voice rang out, making Leah pull her earbuds from her ears to hear her mother, "Phone!" Leah rolled her eyes and pushed out of her chair. It was probably some lame relative calling about lacrosse or something.

"I don't want to talk to Aunt Stella." Leah groaned as she slumped down the stairs, "Or Uncle Ben, or any of the others." Leah said with a wave of her hand as she came into the kitchen. Tara just gave her a look and handed her the phone. Leah took it with an eye roll and placed it to her ear.

"Hello?" Leah asked, staring at her mom.

 _"Leah! Finally!"_ Leah's brow furrowed at Stiles' voice.

"Stiles? Why are you calling my house phone? Why do you even have this number?"

 _"Not important. You need to get over here. Like ten minutes ago."_

"Over where?" Leah asked, glancing away from Tara's raised eyebrows.

 _"What do you mean over where?"_

"I mean, over _where._ There could be a lot of places. Like the school, Scott's house, the library, the—" Stiles let out a strangled, frustrated yell.

 _"My house, Barbie! Just get over here!"_

"Why?" Leah innocently asked with a slight smile on her face.

 _"Leah, I swear to God—"_ Leah pulled the phone away from her ear and ended the call with her thumb. Tara raised her eyebrows at Leah as Leah grinned.

"What?" Leah asked, noticing her mom's look.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, I don't even know." Leah made a face, "Stiles was freaking out again and asked me to come over."

"Think it's serious?" Tara asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she rested her chin on her propped up elbows.

"Nope." Leah popped the 'p' for emphasis.

"Are you sure?" Tara asked, leaning forward on the counter. Leah felt the same pang of guilt that had happened with Scott and Allison shoot through her again.

"Fine." Leah groaned, rolling her head back, "I'll go. But I'm not gonna like it."

"Didn't think you would." Tara winked at her daughter. Leah made a face before she crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, PS, I'm going to a party tonight." Tara arched her eyebrow as she straightened up.

"A party? You? Really?" Tara sounded surprised.

"You know, normal parents would be more concerned about their daughter going to a party." Leah said, dropping her arms and pulling down the corners of her mouth.

"Oh, okay. So do you want me to ban you from going to this party?" Tara asked, pressing her hands flat on the counter.

"If you could do that, I would love you forever." Leah seriously said. Tara made a face and put her hands up in the air, backing away from her daughter.

"I guess you'll just have to hate me." Tara shrugged.

"Can't you just ground me or something?" Leah raised her eyebrows hopefully.

"Uh, no." Tara shot down her daughter's hopeful look, "Don't you have to go over to Stiles'?" Leah whined in protest before stopping at her mother's stern look.

"I hate you." Leah complained, turning and walking away from her mother.

"One day I'll be dead and you're gonna miss me!" Tara called out after her daughter. Leah waved her hand up in the air in response.

Grabbing her board from where it rested by the door, Leah made sure she had her phone and keys before she walked out of the house. Leah stopped at the end of the walk and let out a huff before angrily brushing back a few flyways and putting her board down. She stepped onto it and pushed off, heading for Stiles' house.

Leah tried to avoid going to Stiles' house as much as she could. The only time she was ever forced to be there was during the families' First Friday dinners. The tradition started when Tara was hired at the station and her and the sheriff realized Leah and Stiles were around the same age. Every First Friday of the month, the families would gather together for dinner, catching up and hanging out. The dinners stopped when Claudia was hospitalized, only picking up a few months after her death. Leah hated them; being forced to spend hours with Stiles without Scott as a buffer was not her favorite thing to do. She usually made up some excuse to get out of them—extra work hours, not feeling well, or too much homework, anything to get her to escape her actual hell. But sometimes, she had to face the music and spend time with Stiles.

"Hey…Leah." The sheriff looked surprised to see Leah, willingly rolling up his driveway when it wasn't a First Friday. Leah gave him a small wave as she stepped off her board.

"Hi, Sheriff." Leah said with a small smile, "Stiles called. Asked me to come over." She quickly explained.

"Oh, well, he's in his room with Scott." The sheriff motioned to his house. He furrowed his brows at Leah, "Should I be worried?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" Leah asked back, raising an eyebrow. The sheriff chuckled and nodded.

"You're right, Leah. Have a good night."

"You too." Leah nodded at the sheriff as he got into his cruiser. Leah waited until he backed out of the driveway and turned onto the street before going into the house.

Leah left her board by the door and went up the stairs where she could clearly hear Stiles and Scott arguing. Stiles' bedroom door was the first one in front of the stairs and Leah pushed through the door just in time to see Stiles digging through Scott's bag.

"Hey, yo! What are you doing?" Leah asked, getting the boys' attention as she stalked over to Stiles.

"Finally!" Stiles yelled out, flailing about.

"He's canceling my date with Allison!" Scott said at the same time.

"Excuse me?!" Leah yelled out at Stiles. "No! You can't do that!"

"You don't understand—"

"No, I understand plenty." Leah stepped up closer to Stiles, "You're jealous. You're jealous that he's made first line, got a date and you're still here obsessing over some girl who pretends to be an idiot!" Leah laughed out, completely appalled with Stiles' actions, "This is a new low, Stiles."

"None of that stuff is true, Barbie. Which you would know if you answered your phone once in a while." Leah made a face at him, "I'm canceling that date. You're not going." Stiles grabbed the phone and turned away as Leah reached for him.

"No, give it to me!" Scott yelled out.

If Leah had blinked, she would've missed Scott grabbing Stiles and whirling him around, forcing his back against the wall. Leah flinched at the sound of Stiles' back slamming against the wall. One of Scott's hands was clenched around his throat and the other was in a fist, aimed for Stiles' face. The phone clattered out of Stiles' hand as Stiles flinched back from Scott. Leah held her breath, eyes wide as she waited for what was going to happen.

Then Scott let out a yell and threw his arm back, knocking the chair over instead of punching Stiles' face. He let go of Stiles, who let out a breath and looked from Scott to Leah. Leah released the breath she was holding, but she still felt her stomach knot up. Scott looked to Leah, his eyes dark and she instinctually took a step back. His eyes and face softened at her motion and he looked away, turning to Stiles.

"I—I'm sorry." Stiles didn't reply. Scott took a step back, "I gotta go get—ready for that…party." He lamely said as he moved away from Stiles.

Leah watched Scott carefully as he moved towards his bag. He retrieved it and slung it around his shoulder. Leah stepped to the side and picked up Scott's phone, holding it out to him, the end of the phone in the air. Scott looked at Leah with a small smile as he took it, making sure not to touch Leah's hand with his hand.

"I'm sorry." Scott said again, looking over to where Stiles was still against the wall.

When it became clear that Stiles wasn't going to respond, Scott stepped around Leah, going for the door. It opened and shut and as soon as Scott was gone, Stiles slammed his head against the wall in frustration. Leah crossed her arms over her chest as Stiles went to pick up his chair. Leah looked around Stiles' room, seeing the papers and books strewn about.

"What is all this?" She asked, looking to Stiles, who let out a sigh, eyes still on the chair.

"Theories. Research. Myths." Stiles paused, glancing up to meet Leah's gaze, "But that little outburst just proved it."

"Proved what?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Stiles spun the chair so Leah could see the back of the chair.

"This." There were three deep gashes in the material, deep enough that Leah saw the fluffy insides. She shifted her weight, eyes darting up to Stiles.

"What the fuck is that?" Leah asked. The uneasy look returned on Stiles' face. Stiles ran his hand over his mouth and stomped his foot, almost like he was debating on telling her something.

"Fine. Don't tell me." Leah said after a moment, "Not like you tell me anything anyway." Leah shrugged. Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic. God." Leah fixed him with a look, " _Lycanthropy_." Stiles said, raising his hands in the air, "Scott's a werewolf." Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, good one."

"I'm serious!" Stiles cried out, talking with his hands.

"He's not a werewolf, Douchecanone. They aren't even real." Leah shrugged.

"But think about it!" Stiles said, "The bite, the wolf howl and the wolf hairs on the body." Stiles flailed a bit, "You said it yourself!"

"I was kidding!" Leah laughed, even though the worry she felt when she was talking to Connor was coming back.

"You saw those moves today, Leah. He doesn't need his inhaler anymore, he can hear better, smell some gum in my pocket. There's no other explanation! And there's a full moon tonight and with the party, it's just not a safe place for him. For anyone!" Stiles raised his arms up. "They have no idea that they're partying with a werewolf! Oh _my_ _God_." Stiles scrubbed his hand over his head, whining a bit.

"Stop! Stop!" Leah raised her hands up in the air, stepping closer to Stiles, "You're spiraling, dude. There's no such thing as werewolves!" She gave another half hearted laugh. She was trying to play it cool, be the sensible one.

Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but Leah cut him off, "No. No more talk about werewolves. Since you made me come here, you are driving me to Lydia's party." Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest as she lifted her chin. Stiles gaped at Leah.

"Like hell I am!" Stiles put his hands on his hips. Leah raised her eyebrows and stared at him until he broke. Stiles gave in, rolling his head back and groaning.

"Fine. Whatever." He waved a hand in the air before stomping past Leah, "I need to get ready." Leah snorted as Stiles walked out of his room, leaving her alone.

Leah stayed in Stiles' room and went over to his desk, leafing through all the pages of material and research he did on the subject of werewolves. He was thorough; he had books and websites and different views on lycanthropy. Leah found herself sitting on the bed, reading through one of the packets he had stapled together and started highlighting and annotating.

As Leah read the research on werewolves, she thought of something, but she couldn't remember what it was. It was like trying to remember a dream she had; there was a gap, something was missing. There was a feeling like something had happened to her, but she couldn't remember what it was. Leah swallowed, tossing the packet on the desk and stood up from Stiles' bed. She didn't like the feeling, crossing her arms over her stomach until the feeling went away.

Leah made Stiles wait until fifteen minutes after the party actually started to leave his house. He was twitching the entire time and Leah knew he just wanted to be there, even it was just to ogle at Lydia. She enjoyed watching him glance at the clock almost every thirty seconds as some dumb rom com played on the television. And at exactly fifteen minutes past, Stiles shot to his feet.

"Let's go! Let's go, we're burning daylight!" Stiles waved his arms around, trying to get Leah to move.

"It's dark." Leah dryly said from her position on the couch. Stiles rolled his head back and slumped down.

"Leah, you said fifteen minutes. It's been fifteen minutes. Probably sixteen now!"

"Why are you rushing?" Leah asked, looking up at him, "She has a boyfriend." She reminded him, "And it's pathetic to show up on time to a party."

"Oh, and how many parties have you been to?" Stiles asked, leaning forward. Leah gave him a look before dramatically standing up. He bolted to the door while she lazily walked there, taking her time.

"I can't believe you roped me into this." Stiles was bouncing, "If I was by myself, I would have already been there."

"Yeah, stringing up lights while she called you _Stan_." Leah said as she walked by him to grab her skateboard.

"But she would be talking to me." He pointed out as she opened the door. The two of them walked out of the house, going toward the Jeep.

"Pathetic." Leah said in response, looking over her shoulder at Stiles. She went up to the Jeep and jiggled the handle until he unlocked the door.

"Says the girl who wanted to date Danny Melahani freshman year." Stiles scoffed as Leah got into the Jeep. Leah promptly punched his shoulder, making him cringe and gasp out in pain.

"We don't talk about that. Like ever. In the history of ever." Leah said, " _Ever_." Stiles grumbled as he rubbed his arm.

"You aren't supposed to hit the driver." He grumbled.

"You aren't driving." Leah simply said, a smug look on her face.

He gave her the stink eye, and Leah looked pointedly to the clock. Stiles' jaw clicked as he pushed his chin out and started the Jeep, returning his gaze to the road.

Stiles somehow managed to find a spot to parallel park his Jeep in front of Lydia's house. He quickly got out of the car and practically ran to the end of the driveway before composing himself and straightening his tie. Leah ambled up to him and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the house containing copious amounts of alcohol, food and teenagers.

"You have a thing for blazers don't you?" Leah asked, glancing over to him.

"I am not letting you ruin this for me." Stiles pointed at Leah before walking up the driveway. Leah rolled her eyes, but followed after him.

They got to the front door and Stiles stared at it for a moment before looking at Leah, "Should I ring or—"

"Oh for the love of God." Leah groaned out, shoving the door open and walking inside, Stiles following her.

Leah was immediately assaulted with the smell of sweat and booze while her ears were attacked by some top 40 hit and her eyes landed on some couples doing some pretty unsavory things. She had made a huge mistake.

"Hey, guys!" Leah heard a voice say from behind her. She spun around to see Allison and Scott coming through the front door. Allison was all smiles and Scott gave Leah and Stiles a timid look.

"I didn't know you two were together." Allison said, eyes looking from Leah to Stiles. Stiles and Leah looked at each other and immediately began to shoot Allison's assumption.

"No! Oh God no—"

"Us? Together? Hell no—."

"I can't stand him—."

"Honestly don't even know how I got to be standing next to her—."

"He's a douchecanone—."

"She's a Barbie—."

Allison looked in between the two of them before nodding a bit and then looking to Scott. Scott raised his eyebrows at his friends, waving a hand between them.

"They hate each other."

"I can see that." Allison mused, a somewhat of a knowing smile on her face. Leah gave Allison a look as she winked at her, "Let's go dance." She looked at Scott, who nodded. The couple walked by Leah and Stiles and they turned to watch the couple go.

"Have fun." Leah said lamely.

"You too." Allison waved at her with a smile before walking through the house with Scott.

"Well that was—" Stiles started.

"I need alcohol." Leah ended, walking away from him.

Leah wove through the crowd and headed towards what she would assume to be the kitchen if it wasn't for the keg and the plethora of handles of different alcohols littered around the counter area. Leah grabbed a red cup and started to make up her drink. The handle of Malibu slipped from her grip. Leah reached out to catch it, when another hand snatched it up instead.

"Nice catch." Leah commented, looking up to see an older guy, around Connor's age, in a leather jacket giving her an easy smile, "And you're too old to be in high school." Leah said, pointing at him. The guy gave the Malibu back to Leah, "Thanks…" Leah hesitantly said, studying the leather clad guy for a moment before turning back to her drink.

"I'm Derek, by the way."

"Didn't ask." Leah sighed, making a face as she poured some of the Malibu into the cup. "Have fun being a total creeper." Leah glanced back at Derek, raising her cup up to him before going to walk away.

"Leah, wait." Derek said, reaching out to grab Leah's arm. Leah turned, tugging against his grasp.

"How the fuck do you know my name?" Leah confusedly looked at Derek. Derek let out an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes and looking annoyed.

"I'm friends with your brother." Derek explained, "And I need you to come with me."

"That's very _Terminator_ of you, but I'll pass. Connor's never mentioned you before. Plus, you look super creepy and I'd rather not die." Leah made a face, struggling to get out of Derek's hold, "Let go of me." She grumbled.

"You know me." Derek stared at her.

"No, dude, I don't!" Leah widened her eyes at Derek, struggling to get out of his grasp.

"Yo." Leah heard from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Kyle and a couple of the guys from the lacrosse team standing behind her, "She said let go." Leah looked at the guys; all of their faces were set as they stared at Derek. Leah looked back and smirked at Derek as he let her go.

"Did he hurt you?" Kyle asked, brow furrowing in worry.

"No, I'm fine." Leah stared at Derek, "He was actually just leaving." Derek looked annoyed, letting out a huff as he brushed by them.

"Thanks, guys." Leah said, turning around to look at them. Kyle gave her a small smile.

"Gotta protect our little princess." Kyle said, reaching out and ruffling Leah's hair.

"More like princess ninja warrior." One of the other lacrosse guys, Harry, said with a grimace, rubbing at his shoulder. Leah rolled her eyes at the boys, but was grateful they had come to her defense.

"I have to go find Scott. Thanks again." Leah walked past the guys, going back into the party area. There was no sign of Scott or Allison in the house and Leah looked out to the pool area, seeing them dancing together. She smiled to herself, taking a sip of her drink before walking away.

Walking around the party, Leah surveyed the scene. It seemed that Derek had disappeared, and Leah was not complaining about it; he creeped her out. She saw Stiles standing in the hallway, drink in his hand, leaning against the wall.

"Sup." Leah said as she walked over to him, raising her cup at him. Stiles raised his eyebrows at her in greeting. "Why aren't you following Lydia around?" Leah asked, looking around for the hostess.

"She's outside sucking faces with Jackson." Stiles sighed, kicking at the ground.

"Ah, yes, her boyfriend." Leah leaned against the wall opposite of Stiles, "A cruel, but necessary reminder that she is in fact taken."

"Thanks." Stiles made a face at Leah.

"Mhm." Leah replied as she took a sip of her drink, smirking at Stiles.

The sound of someone crashing into the house made both Leah and Stiles look over. They saw Scott stumbling toward them, pushing people out of the way, head down and back curved.

"Yo, Scott you good?" Stiles asked, reaching out for Scott.

Scott ignore Stiles, putting his hands to the side of his head and flinching a bit.

"Are you okay?" Leah carefully asked as Scott walked past Leah and Stiles.

He was sweating, his breathing was heavy and he didn't acknowledge either of his friends. Leah and Stiles watched Scott stumble out the front door. The pair exchanged a look, Stiles' eyebrows were raised and the smirk disappeared from Leah's face.

"Do you know where Scott went?" The sound of Allison's voice made both Leah and Stiles turn. Allison motioned with her hands, expecting an answer.

"Uh, outside." Stiles thumbed over his shoulder and Allison gave him a grateful smile before moving between the two.

"It's the—"

"Don't say it—" Leah cautioned Stiles.

"Full moon." Stiles finished.

Leah let out a sigh before downing her drink and following Stiles outside. There was no sign of Scott's mom's car and Allison was standing alone in the middle of the street. Leah saw Derek walk up to her, the same easy smile on his face.

"Oh, _fuck me_." Leah groaned, falling onto her foot.

"I'll pass." Stiles answered, making a face. "Is that Derek Hale?" Stiles asked, seeing what Leah was seeing.

"Yeah." Leah gave an annoyed sigh, going past Stiles to walk down the driveway.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?"

"To save Allison from being kidnapped by Derek." Leah turned to look at Stiles, eyes wide as if Stiles were stupid.

"No, what? I'm coming with you."

"No, go find Scott." Leah put her hands out to stop Stiles, "I'll take care of this." Leah waited for Stiles to nod his head before she hurried down the driveway to where Allison and Derek were talking.

"Let me give you a ride home." Derek said and she saw him with his keys and looked around the street, trying to figure out which car was his.

The lights of a black Camaro flashed and Leah took that as a sign that it was Derek's car. She avoided Allison and Derek, going towards the Camaro and opening the back door, slipping inside the car. Luckily, Leah was small enough to fit on the floor in between the seats in the back. Adjusting herself so she could see Allison, Leah pulled out her phone, wanting to text Connor, but stopped when the front doors opened.

Derek and Allison got into the Camaro, neither of them saying anything. Derek started the car and at that moment, Leah realized she didn't have a plan. She was in the car, but she had no other plan to moving forward.

There was idle chit chat between Derek and Allison during the drive. Leah figured they were going to Allison's house since Allison was giving directions. At one point, Allison took off the blazer she was wearing and it brushed against Leah's head. Allison seemed a little tense at first, but relaxed throughout the drive.

Leah felt the car slowing down and she heard Allison thank Derek for the ride. She peered up to see Allison getting out of the car. The door slammed and Leah held her breath, not wanting to expose herself.

"I know you're there, Leah." Derek's voice made Leah jump in surprise.

Leah debated staying quiet, but realized it was a moot point; she had no other way out. Biting her bottom lip, Leah shifted and raised her head to see Derek staring at her.

"Heeeey there." Leah sang out, trying to play it cool. "This is a very nice car." Leah commented as she pushed herself off of the ground, "You keep it very clean." Leah made a face, sitting on the backseat and swiping her hair out of her face.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

"Just practicing my spy moves." Leah shrugged, pushing out her bottom lip. Derek tilted his head at her, giving her an unamused look. "Do you know Allison's older brother too?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm taking you home." Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, no thanks." Leah shook her head, going for the door handle. "I can walk."

"Leah—" Derek started, trying to stop her, but Leah opened the door before Derek could press the button to lock the doors.

"Thanks for not murdering me." Leah quickly called out as she scrambled out of the car. She slammed the door and ran off in the opposite direction.

After running for a few minutes, Leah slowed to a stop, looking around herself for Derek's Camaro. There was no sign of it or the creeper in the leather that owned it. Leah looked up at the street name, realizing she had no clue where she was. Leah's phone started ringing and she reached into her pocket for it, seeing Connor's name on the screen.

"Why are you calling me?" Leah asked as she caught her breath.

 _"Why are you out of breath?_ " Connor replied.

"I was running—"

 _"From what?"_ Connor sounded concerned as he cut his sister off.

"From some dude named Derek!" Leah threw her arm out, " _Jesus_ , Connor!"

 _"Sorry, sorry._ " Connor paused, " _Wait, did you say Derek?_ "

"Yeah, apparently he's a friend of yours." Leah started walking as she talked, "He's kinda creepy."

" _Yeah, he wears his past like a cloak_." Connor sighed out, knowing all too well about how Derek carried himself.

"If that cloak is a leather jacket, then yes." Leah rolled her eyes, "But, you know him?"

" _We went to high school together._ " Connor gave the short version of his history with Derek. Leah took it at face value, realizing that Derek had been telling the truth. " _Why were you running from him?_ "

"Because I thought he was going to murder me!" Leah cried out, "I was just trying to make sure Allison got home safe."

 _"Wait, who's Allison?_ "

"Scott's girlfriend…or his crush. I don't know if they're official yet…"

" _You were with Scott? What happened to him? Where'd he go?_ " Connor quickly fired off his questions.

"Uh, I don't know." Leah looked around herself, "He ran out of the party we were at and Stiles was all _it's the full moon_ because he thinks Scott's a werewolf, so Stiles went after Scott and I made sure Allison was okay."

" _Leah, you have to get home. Call Stiles, tell him to stop looking for Scott and to pick you up. Get home._ " Connor urged. Leah heard him push out of his chair.

"What? Why?"

" _Leah, just do it._ "

Leah opened her mouth to respond when she heard a growl from behind her. Slowly, Leah turned around, seeing a crouched figure standing a few feet in front of her, eyes glowing a bright gold. Leah took in a shaky breath as she lowered her phone from her ear. The figure snarled at her again before lunging at her. Leah let out a yelp and put her hands up to protect herself, turning away from the figure.

She was knocked to the ground, head scraping the pavement, and she felt the weight of whatever had attacked her on her. Leah let out a groan before she looked up, feeling her eyebrows furrow,

" _Scott_?" Leah managed out as her best friend glared down at her.

Leah felt herself begin to panic as she stared up at Scott. He was shirtless, his face was wolfish, fangs poking out of his mouth. His claws- _his claws,_ were scraping the ground next to her, making a terrible sound. His eyes were a bright gold and his ears were pointed.

Leah took in a deep breath as a feeling of déjà vu washed over her. Something about the situation she was in felt familiar, which was crazy since she had never been attacked by her werewolf-looking-like best friend.

Suddenly, Scott's head snapped up and the next thing Leah knew, Scott was off of her. He was sprinting down the street, on all fours, disappearing into the woods. Leah took in a shaky breath, swallowing back the lump in her throat. Her hand fluttered up to her temple, gently touching the wound. She was bleeding.

After a moment of lying in the street, Leah sat up, looking at her phone. Her call with Connor had ended and Leah quickly scrolled through her recent calls, tapping her finger on Stiles' name.

" _Hey! Where are you?_ " Stiles answered.

"The corner of Maple and Roberts." Leah replied miserably.

" _Stay there._ " Stiles instructed before hanging up.

A few minutes later, Stiles' Jeep rolled up in front of Leah. Leah pulled open the door, tears staining her face as she climbed inside. Stiles stared at her.

"What the hell—"

"Scott." Leah answered him, "It was Scott." Leah wiped at her eyes before she looked over to Stiles, "Do you know where he is?"

"I think he went after Derek."

"And where is Derek?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea." Stiles admitted.

"Cool. Great." Leah made a face as she nodded. There was a moment of silence between the two before Leah spoke up again, "He had fangs."

"What?"

"And claws and his eyes were gold, Stiles." Leah looked over to Stiles. Stiles took in a breath, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Scott said Derek was the one who bit him." Stiles explained as he started driving down the street, "That Derek was the werewolf who killed the girl in the woods and bit Scott that night."

"We have to find him." Leah firmly said. Stiles looked over at Leah, seriously nodding in agreement.

The pair drove around all night, going all around the town limits. They were quiet for most of the search, only speaking when it was necessary. As the sun rose, Stiles suggested going into the Preserve on foot to search for him and Leah mumbled her agreement. She couldn't believe what she had saw, what Scott had become.

The Jeep rolled up the hill towards the entrance of the Preserve. Leah lifted up her head as she spotted a shirtless figure walking on the side of the road.

"Is that Scott?" Leah asked before answering her own question, "It's Scott. Stiles, slow down."

"Oh, I was just gonna speed up." Stiles gave Leah a look, cranky from being up all night, "Maybe run him over." Leah raised her eyebrows at him as Stiles slowed down.

Leah pushed out of the Jeep, ignoring Stiles' questions concerning what she was doing. Scott turned at the sound of the Jeep, his hand still on his wound from being shot by an arrow. He spotted Leah a few feet away from him and he let out a small sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God—" Scott started, walking up to Leah.

Leah put her hands up in front of her, stopping him from advancing closer to her. Scott saw the slightly uneasy look on her face and stopped in his tracks. He took in a breath and nodded to himself, letting her study him as he looked at the ground.

The friends were quiet for a moment. Scott was aware of everything: Leah's frantic heartbeat, the rumbling of the Jeep's engine, the salty smell of the tears that stained her cheeks, and the bitter smell of the dried blood from her head wound. He did that. He hurt his best friend and the overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over him.

"So you're—" Leah started, stopping herself from saying the word. She swallowed before opening her mouth again, "You're a—"

"Werewolf." Scott breathed out, quickly glancing up at Leah before closing his eyes.

He feared her reaction; he didn't know what she was going to do—yell, hit him, make a joke. He hoped for the latter but knew he deserved her anger. Scott hurt her, even if he didn't mean to. Leah continued to stare at Scott, feeling her heart sink.

"Fuck." Leah quietly said, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked away from Scott.

* * *

 **A/N: Omg can you believe Scott's a werewolf? I know. Total plot twist. ;)**


	5. A Frat Bro Move

Leah stared up at her ceiling, counting the glow in the dark stars that were stuck to her ceiling. She already knew how many were there, she just kept counting them over and over again because if she stopped counting them, she would start thinking about what happened on Friday night.

Her phone buzzed and Leah immediately moved her hand over to grab her phone. Picking it up, Leah looked away from the stars and glanced at the name on the screen. _Scott_. Leah hit ignore and set her phone down on the bed.

She had been ignoring Scott. Intentionally. After Leah and Stiles found Scott on the side of the road, they took him home. Stiles chattered on and on about what it all meant while Scott was in the passenger seat, worrying about his future with Allison. Meanwhile, Leah was quiet, sitting in the backseat and thinking to herself. The boys adjusted so quickly to Scott's transformation, but Leah was struggling to get it together. Mostly because she was still a little shaken from being attacked by Scott.

When Stiles dropped Scott and Leah off, Leah didn't even bother to say any goodbyes. Instead, she walked toward her house, completely silent and ignoring whatever the boys were talking about. Leah managed to make to her bedroom before she burst out into tears. She curled up in the middle of her bed, finally reacting to what had happened to her.

Which was how she ended up in her current situation, on her back, counting the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. She thought back, trying to remember the names of the constellations her and Stiles had created.

Before she could remember, her phone buzzed again. Leah grasped for it before grabbing onto it and bringing it to her face. Allison's name had appeared on her screen. Leah clicked on the green answer button, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Hey." Leah greeted Allison.

" _Hey, are you busy right now?_ " Allison quickly asked.

There was a tapping at Leah's window and Leah looked over to see Scott perched on the tree branch near her window. Leah rolled off of her bed as Allison continued to talk.

" _I just—I wanted to know if you wanted to do something today. But if you're busy, I totally understand_."

Leah went over to the window, meeting Scott's hopeful gaze. She reached for her curtain as she answered Allison,

"I'm free." Leah pulled the curtain across, blocking out Scott's innocent puppy dog face, "What did you want to do?"

* * *

"They did _what?!"_ Connor all about shouted out as he paced across his room. "Derek—!"

" _Hey, no!"_ Derek cut Connor off before he could be blamed, " _I saved his ass!"_

 _"_ You shouldn't have even brought him out there in the first place!" Connor cried out, "And kidnapping his girlfriend?!"

" _I didn't kidnap her."_ Derek sounded exasperated, " _I just gave her a ride home."_ Derek paused, " _Let's not forget that your sister hid like a stow-away in my car."_

 _"_ She said she didn't know what you were gonna do with Allison." Connor stated as Derek let out a frustrated groan, "I told you she doesn't remember you!"

" _Yeah, I know that! I just thought that seeing my face would trigger something._ "

"You freaked her out, man." Connor stopped pacing. He let out a sigh as he rubbed his free hand over his mouth, "Okay, so what happened after the hunters shot Scott and you saved him or whatever."

" _He ran away from me."_ Derek seriously said.

"Great." Connor lifted his hand up and then let it drop, "That's real great, Derek."

" _I'm trying my best here_." Derek all about growled out, " _I didn't plan on having to take care of a sixteen year old beta._ "

"Yeah, neither did I." Connor snapped out.

There was a bit of silence between the two of them before Connor spoke again, "Do we know who bit him?"

" _No."_

 _"_ And you're sure it wasn't Laura?"

" _Positive."_ Derek's voice sounded strained. Connor picked up on it and tilted his head to the side.

"What's wrong?" Connor asked.

" _She's dead."_ Derek managed out, " _Laura's dead."_

"What?" Connor softly asked in disbelief. He sat down on the edge of the bed, "How—"

" _I found the top half of her body."_

"Oh my God." Connor breathed out, "Derek, I'm so sorry." Connor paused before speaking again, "Do you think it was one of the hunters that were in the woods last night?"

" _It had to be_." Connor swallowed at how serious Derek was.

"Okay, okay, don't—don't do anything stupid. I'll be home in a few days. We'll figure it out. For now, just keep an eye on Scott and Leah."

" _Fine."_

"And please, for the love of God, don't try to jog any more of her memories. It could seriously hurt her and I can't have her freaking out."

" _Have you talked to her since last night?"_

"No…" Connor sighed, "No, she hasn't been answering any of my calls." Connor was low-key freaking out about the lack of communication between him and his sister. He had heard what had happened the previous night when Scott attacked her and he worried that it ended badly.

" _I'll check on her_."

"Don't be creepy about it, dude." Connor reminded him. Connor heard what Derek considered a chuckle, but it sounded like he was just blowing out a breath. "Thank you." Connor added on, "And I'm sorry about Laura."

" _Me too._ " Derek responded, " _I'll talk to you later._ "

Connor hung up with Derek and took in a breath before going into his recent calls. He clicked on his sister's name again. He listened to it ring for a few moments before her voicemail picked up, " _Yo, it's Leah. Leave a message if you want. I won't listen to it."_

"Hey, it's me…again. Call me back please. I—We need to talk." Connor settled on before hanging up.

* * *

"So what do you want to talk about?" Leah asked as she walked into Allison's room. Leah had been invited over to Allison's house and had managed to convince Tara to let her use the car to get to the Argent house. Allison had led Leah up the massive staircase and down the hall to her room, which was still in the early stages of unpacking.

"Holy boxes." Leah made a face as she took in the state of Allison's room.

"Uh, yeah I haven't really gotten around to unpacking." Allison closed an eye as she looked at Leah, scratching behind her ear. Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Anyway…" Allison trailed off. She chewed on her bottom lip, glancing at Leah quickly before looking away again, "Uhm, have you heard from Scott, by chance?" Allison asked, looking back at Leah.

"No." Leah shook her head before crossing her arms over her chest, "Why? Did something happen?"

"Oh no! Well, yes…maybe." Allison settled on, looking nervous, "He kinda ditched me at the party. His friend Derek—" Leah tried not to react at Derek's name, "Said it was cause he was sick, but, I don't know." Allison shrugged, "I was hoping you had more information." Allison settled onto the edge of her bed.

"I don't." Leah lied as she shook her head. She sat down next to Allison on the bed, "But I saw him run out of the house and he looked like he…wasn't feeling like himself." Leah chose her words carefully. Allison nodded, both girls staring at the wall in front of them.

"Do you know Derek?" Allison asked, looking at Leah. Leah met her gaze with raised eyebrows, "Scott's friend?" Allison gave a little more detail.

"Oh, uhm, not really." Leah squinted, "He's older than us though, I think my brother knew him so that's probably how Scott knows him."

"Oh, you have a brother?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows. Leah nodded, "That's cool."

"I'm basically an only child now since he's away at school." Leah added on, feeling rather lame. Allison gave her a warm smile and nodded.

"How was the rest of your night?" Allison asked, changing the subject. She shifted on the bed so she was facing Leah and sitting Indian style. Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison's question. Flashes of the previous night, flitted by in Leah's memory in quick succession. Hiding out in Derek's car, running away, getting attacked by Scott, laying in the middle of the street bleeding from a head wound.

"Oh, uhm, it was fine." Leah absentmindedly reached up to touch her head wound. Allison caught it and turned her attention to it.

"Oh my God, your head!" Allison worriedly commented. Leah dropped her hand from her head and gave a nervous smile.

"Ha, yeah, a door hit me." Leah quickly lied. She motioned to her head and mimicked getting hit. Allison eyed her skeptically before nodding slowly, "I'm short, people don't notice me!" Leah continued. She silently cursed herself; she just needed to keep her mouth shut.

"I'm glad you're okay." Allison gave her a pitying smile as she reached out to pat Leah's knee. "Did anything else exciting happen?" Leah made a face and shook her head,

"Nope." Leah lied, thinking back to that night.

"Oh, wait, weird thing that happened." Allison drew her hand back from Leah's knee, "Stiles showed up here after I had gotten home."

"Really?" Leah asked, brow furrowing, "What did he want?"

"He was looking for you, actually." Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah.

"Huh…" Leah trailed off, looking away from Allison. When she glanced back at Allison, Allison had a small smile on her face, "What?"

"Nothing." She grinned, rolling her eyes up and raising her shoulders up. Leah's brow furrowed and she made a face at Allison before looking away.

"Okay…" Leah sighed, stretching out, "So, do you wanna do something or did you just invite me over here to get intel on Scott?" Allison's smile fell slightly and Leah knew she hit a nerve.

"I didn't just invite you over to do recon on Scott." Allison made a face, shaking her head.

"No, I know," Leah leaned forward, "I don't know why I said—"

"I do actually want to be your friend, Leah." Allison overlapped Leah.

"Really?" Leah asked, eyebrows raising.

"Yeah." Allison made her eyes wide and nodded, "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It's not." Leah pulled the corners of her mouth down and shrugged, "It's not." She repeated herself.

"Good." Allison slowly nodded her head at Leah, "So…do you wanna help me unpack a little?" Allison looked to the boxes.

For a few hours, Leah and Allison worked through a couple of Allison's boxes. They didn't get much done; whenever Leah found something interesting, she would demand the story behind it. Depending on how embarrassing the story was, Allison would tell Leah. The girls started to bond and Leah couldn't help but feel her walls start to come down.

"We made no progress whatsoever." Allison laughed as the girls sat surrounded by open boxes.

"I think we did pretty swell." Leah grinned as she looked around herself. "We opened everything, which is step one."

"Oh, yeah totally." Allison grinned back at Leah.

"And I saw some young Ally pictures and I'm keeping the pigtails one for blackmail." Leah smirked, getting a gasp from Allison.

"You cannot!" Leah shrugged and got to her feet.

"You'll never know when it's coming." Leah looked down at Allison with a wicked smile. Allison laughed and got to her feet to stand in front of Leah. "I better head out. I have work tonight."

"Yeah, time sure flies when you're going through boxes." Allison surveyed her room with raised eyebrows.

"Sure does." Leah agreed, "I'll see you on Monday." Leah bid goodbye to Allison as she stepped around boxes to get to the door.

"Yeah, of course." Allison grinned at Leah, "And, if you see Scott, can you tell him to call me?"

Leah turned to face Allison, seeing Allison had crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah." Leah nodded, "Should I tell him you're pissed or have him figure that out for himself?"

"I'm not—" Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison. Allison sighed, "I know he's your best friend, but he ditched me, Leah."

"Yeah, no, it was a dick move." Leah agreed, "I'd be mad too." Leah paused, "You know he's not really like that, right? He just wasn't feeling well."

"I know." Allison shrugged, "It still hurts though."

"Right." Leah nodded, knowing exactly how Allison felt. "I'll see what I can do." Leah lamely offered. Allison gave her a small smile.

"Thanks." Allison turned her hips to the left, "I'll see you on Monday." Leah nodded before opening the bedroom door and stepping out of Allison's room.

Leah arrived home to find that her parents were gone for the night. Her dad had left a Post-It note explaining that there were leftovers for her to take. Leah opened the fridge to retrieve the leftovers and heat them up in the microwave. She had about two hours before she had to go to work, which was just enough time for her mind to turn back to the previous night. Being with Allison had distracted her for a good amount of time, but now that she was alone, memories from the night before started to filter back.

Along with the memories came the familiar feeling again. Leah tapped her fork against her teeth as she tried to pick out what was so familiar about them. The microwave dinged before she could place her finger on it.

Taking her meal upstairs, Leah nudged open her bedroom door only to drop her food and let out a startled scream. Scott quickly sat up from his position on her bed, eyes just as wide as Leah's.

"Awh, man." Leah looked down at her ruined food, stomping her foot. "Damnit, Scott." Leah whined as she looked to Scott. Leah turned and walked out of her bedroom, going into the bathroom to get some paper towels.

When she returned to her bedroom, Scott was already picking up pieces of the broken plate and disposing them in her trashcan. As Leah dropped down in front of him, he gave her a small, hesitant smile. Leah cleaned up the rest of mess, tossing the paper towels in the trashcan.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, pushing on her legs to boost herself into a standing position.

"Uh, your mom let me in. You weren't answering your phone." Scott explained as Leah walked past him.

"I didn't want to talk to you." Leah responded, going to her closet.

"Yeah, I picked up on that." Scott sighed, following her.

"So, why are you here?" Leah asked, pulling out a different shirt to change into for work. She looked over at Scott expectantly.

Scott swallowed, his eyes darting to Leah's head wound then back down to her eyes. Leah resisted the urge to touch the wound. Instead, she held Scott's gaze, arching an eyebrow as he fidgeted.

"I—I wanted to say I'm sorry." Scott finally said, "I didn't mean to hurt you, Leah, I swear." Scott put his hands out in front of him.

"I know—"

"It was just the full moon and I wasn't in control and—"

"Scott, I know." Leah stopped him from rambling. She made her way over to the window bench, sitting down and folding the shirt in her lap, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

"Please don't hate me." Scott softly said, stepping towards her.

"I don't—I could never." Leah firmly said, looking up at Scott, "I'm not angry and I don't hate you. I—I just needed some time." Scott nodded, "You…you really scared me."

"I'm sorry." Scott dropped his chin to his chest.

"It's not your fault." Leah quietly said, looking away from Scott, "You didn't ask for it—this." Leah waved her hand around in the air.

There was a moment of silence between the two before Leah looked back at Scott and spoke up, "It's a lot to process."

"I know." Scott looked up at her, eyes wide. He stepped over to the window bench, falling onto it next to Leah.

"We should probably talk about it." Leah prompted, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah…" Scott sighed out.

Leah paused for a moment, "So, what happened after you gave me a werewolf hug?" Leah glanced over to Scott.

"I was in the Preserve." Scott started, "And Derek was there—he's—"

"Super creepy." Leah finished for him, "Yeah, I know."

"Yeah, well, these hunters showed up and one of them shot me with a crossbow."

"I'm sorry, what?" Leah made a face, holding out a hand, "A crossbow?!" Scott nodded. Leah tilted her head to the side, processing that information before motioning for Scott to continue.

"But Derek saved me and suddenly, I was human again and he was saying how we were brothers."

"What a frat bro move." Leah commented with a grimace.

"Then I wandered for a bit until you guys showed up." Scott finished his story.

"Wow." Leah breathed out.

"Yeah." Scott nodded.

"We could get them arrested." Leah piped up, referring to the hunters, "It's not hunting season."

"I don't think they were out there hunting deer." Scott said, glancing at Leah, "Pretty sure they were hunting me and Derek."

"Damn, what the fuck?" Leah quietly said, screwing her mouth to the side. Then she remembered something, "Wait." Leah looked over at Scott, "Derek knows my brother."

"When did you talk to Derek?"

"At the party." Leah waved her hand in the air, "Doesn't matter. Derek _knows_ Connor. Do you think Connor knows about the…you know…werewolf thing?" Scott's brow furrowed and he shrugged.

"Maybe. Do you know how close they were?"

"No, honestly." Leah sighed, "Apparently Derek knows me though, but I don't remember him." Leah's brow furrowed.

"Stiles was saying that his family all burned to death in that fire."

"A fire?" Leah's brow furrowed. Scott nodded and Leah shrugged, "Well, that explains why he's the way he is."

"Just stay away from him." Scott seriously cautioned, "He's causing more bad than good."

"Yeah, like biting you and killing that girl and getting you shot." Leah ticked off a few examples.

"He saved me." Scott corrected her.

"Semantics." Leah waved her hand in the air, "Why would Connor be friends with him?" She asked, mostly to herself.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged.

Leah made a face and looked away from Scott, making a mental reminder to talk to Connor about Derek a little more. The two sat in silence, both mulling over the situation they were in and what the future held.

"You gotta admit it's pretty cool." Leah said, breaking the silence. Scott opened his mouth to argue, but Leah stopped him, "I mean, think about it! You have all these enhanced reflexes, you don't need your inhaler anymore, you're gonna kill it on the field on Saturday and everyone's gonna be cheering _McCall! McCall! McCall!_ " Leah mimicked a crowd cheering. Scott closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't know."

"I'm trying to focus on the positives here, dude." Leah shoved her shoulder against Scott's.

"Since when?"

"Since…now." Leah seriously said. Scott gave her a small half smile and Leah returned it.

"Are we good?"

"We're good." Leah nodded, raising her fist as an invitation for Scott to start their secret handshake. Scott grinned at her.

"And I'm still sorry—"

"Oh my _God_." Leah groaned, getting up from the bench, "I'm _fine_. You didn't even do any damage. This—" Leah pointed to her head, "Was the street's fault, not yours." Leah's eyes widened as she stared at Scott. Scott nodded and got to his feet. "Now, get out, I have to get ready for work." Leah waved her hands at Scott.

"Okay, okay." Scott put his hands up, "I'm going." Scott unlocked the window and opened it up.

Leah watched Scott climb out of the window and disappear into the tree that was between their windows. Reaching out, Leah closed the window, but left it unlocked so Scott could get in again.

With the last hour she had left, Leah decided to start her own research on werewolves and specifically, the Hales. She tried to go as in depth and even deeper than Stiles did. Leah read articles and watched videos and found other semi related cases about lycanthropy.

When it came to the Hales, there was only the article on the fire, which killed most of the family except for Derek, his sister and their uncle. Again, looking at the pictures made Leah feel like she was supposed to know something, but it wasn't coming to her. Leah didn't feel like getting stressed out over it again, so she exited out of her Google tabs and pushed out of her desk chair.

For a Saturday night, the movie rental store was unsurprisingly empty. No one rented movies anymore since there were sites that let you illegally watch them and, well, Netflix. It was only a matter of time until Leah was out of a job.

A bright spot in the evening was when Jackson came in to get The Notebook for the umpteenth time. Leah didn't even bother to hide her smirk as she rang him up; she knew for a fact that Lydia was sitting in the car, waiting for Jackson to come back out. Leah made a whip noise and motion.

"Shut up, Kane." Jackson spat out as he yanked the movie from her free hand.

"Like clockwork." Leah sang out with a smirk as he stomped away from her.

Other than that, the store was empty. Leah shelved some things, just so she could get some blood flowing. She made sure the right discs were in the right cases as she chewed on a Twizzler. Her headphones were around her neck and _Some Like it Hot_ was playing on the TVs.

As she was shelving DVDs, Leah felt someone tap her shoulder and she instinctively whirled around, Twizzler in one hand and a DVD in another, ready to attack. Derek raised his eyebrows at Leah's reaction, putting his hands in the air. Leah let her arms dropped and she leaned forward.

"You can't kill me here, there's cameras everywhere." Derek dropped his hands and let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm not going to kill you, Leah."

"Okay." Leah said in a voice as she rolled her eyes. Leah walked past Derek, heading back to the counter. Derek plucked a movie from the shelf and followed her back to the counter of the store.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Derek asked, raising his eyebrows at Leah as he played it smooth.

"Only with those who bite." Leah squinted at Derek.

"So that includes your best friend." Derek smoothly countered. Leah pursed her lips at Derek.

"Do you _want_ something from me or are you just annoying me? Because I'm sorry, but the position of annoying asshole has already been filled." Leah tilted her head to the side and gave him a tight smile.

"I told your brother I'd check up on you since I'm in town."

"Great." Leah made a face, "Did you happen to tell him that every full moon you grow claws and fangs?" Leah gritted her teeth and curled her fingers as Derek raised his eyebrows at her. Leah sighed and dropped her hands, "Fine, whatever. You can report back to him that I'm just fine considering my best friend's a werewolf and he attacked me, and you're stalking me." Leah shrugged.

"I'm not stalking you." Derek rolled his eyes before tossing the movie he picked up onto the counter.

"Wow, Julia Stiles circa 2000." Leah made a face, "Didn't take you for this kinda dude." Leah paused, "Oh my God, what if Stiles chose his nickname because of Julia Stiles." Leah said to herself, flipping the movie over to scan it.

"It's my sister's favorite movie." Derek explained.

"Oh, so this is for Laura?" Leah said absentmindedly, mentioning Derek's sister. Then, realizing what she said, Leah looked up, tilting her head to the side, "How…did I know that?" She thought back to the articles she had read earlier, but there were no names attached to the survivors.

"You two were always close." Derek vaguely said, sliding over the cash. Leah looked to Derek, seeing that he looked a little bit tense.

"Wait, what?" Leah asked, leaning forward, "What do you mean _we were always close_?"

"I meant Connor." Derek raised his eyebrows, "Connor and Laura were always close."

"Confusing me with my brother? Really nice." Leah scoffed, "Whatever, dude. I have to get back to work." Leah moved away from the counter, turning away from Derek. She kept her back to him until she heard the bell chime, signaling that he had left the store.

For the rest of her shift, Leah tried not to think about what Derek had said; she had a feeling that he had meant her and Laura, not Connor and Laura. She kept her mind busy by focusing on work that usually took her minutes to complete. Before her shift ended, the door chimed and Leah looked over to see Stiles walking through the door. He gave her a head nod in greeting. Leah sighed and walked over to the counter, grabbing a Twizzler to chew on as Stiles went through the supernatural aisle.

He walked out of the aisle a few minutes later, three DVDs in his hand and an annoyed look on his face, "You guys really lack in the werewolf genre, you know that?"

"Maybe because they're all checked out." Leah droned back as Stiles walked up to the counter.

"Heh, yeah, highly doubtful." Stiles scoffed, "I'm surprised you still have a job."

"I'm surprised you even come here." Leah shot back, "Maybe you just wanna see me." Leah rested her chin on her hands, elbows propped up, and smiling as she lovingly blinked at Stiles. Stiles made a gagging noise and rolled his eyes.

"You wish." He tossed the movies on the counter. Leah picked them up and started to scan them out. Stiles sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels, "How's the head."

"Just fine." Leah curtly answered.

"Great." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her before looking away.

"Nine dollars." Leah said around a mouthful of Twizzler. Stiles dug into his pocket for a few crumpled bills.

"Hey, some tweaker give you his number?" Stiles asked, picking up a piece of paper that was on the counter.

"Uh, not that I'm aware of." Leah kept the Twizzler in her mouth as she reached for the paper, but Stiles drew his hand back.

"D.H." Stiles read aloud, brow furrowing.

"Derek." Leah sighed, realizing that Derek must've left his number for her.

"Oh my God. Did Derek Hale give you his number?" Stiles gaped at Leah.

"Well, since he and Jackson have been the only customers, I guess so." Leah widened her eyes.

"Why would he do that?" Stiles asked, studying the paper.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Leah sighed, she reached out for the paper again but Stiles drew his hand back. Leah set her jaw and glared at him, "Give me the paper, Stiles."

"No." Stiles lifted his chin slightly at her,being stubborn.

"Oh my God, you child." Leah rolled her eyes, "Fine, whatever, you keep it." She motioned at Stiles.

"I will." Stiles pursed his lips before he shoved the piece of paper into his pocket. "There's no reason for you to have it." Stiles made his argument. "We don't even need it in general. He's not some werewolf guru, he's a murderer."

Leah rolled her eyes at Stiles as he collected his movies. He gave one last look to Leah before nodding at her, "Alright, bye."

"Later." Leah bid goodbye to Stiles as she pulled the Twizzler out of her mouth. Stiles turned and walked out of the movie store, the bell chiming as he left.

* * *

Connor's phone chimed with an incoming text. Groaning, Connor slid his hand out to his nightstand. He turned his phone over, cringing at the bright light before focusing on the text. It was from Derek.

Sitting up in bed, Connor slid his finger across the screen to open the text up. _She's fine. Nothing but a small scratch on her head, not from Scott._

Connor let out a sigh of relief. He rubbed his hand over his head before texting Derek back. _Thanks man. I'll see you soon._

Locking his phone, Connor set it back on his nightstand. He slid back down under his covers and rolled over, falling back asleep rather quickly.

* * *

Leah fell onto her bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. She had gotten home from work and immediately went up to her bedroom. She didn't bother changing out of her work clothes, wanting nothing more to fall asleep. Leah reached under her shirt and yanked off her bra, tossing it to the side before rolling onto her side.

Letting her eyes close, Leah started to drift off. Her mind wandered as she began to fall asleep. Suddenly images started to flash by in quick succession: a house in the middle of the woods, a young girl with brown hair, the sky peeking through the trees, piles of leaves and a teenager turning to look over her shoulder with a knowing smile as her hair blew around her.

"What are you little wolves doing?" The teen spoke, her voice sounding like she was speaking to children.

Then suddenly, the scene turned dark and there were growls and the sound of claws ripping through something. Leah felt her body falling and jolted awake, the last image she saw was a pair of gold eyes and fangs coming at her.

Taking in a deep breath, Leah scrambled to sit up in her bed, hand going to press against her chest. Leah swallowed, trying to regain her breathing and slow her heart down. She kicked off her covers and looked around her dark room for a moment before reaching to turn on the lamp.

Leah sat cross-legged on her bed as she calmed down. Her room was quiet, except for her heavy breaths, and she was alone. Leah blinked, trying to remember what she saw, but it went blurry again, fading back into her subconscious. The sense of familiarity returned and Leah was torn between the desire to avoid and the desire to know.

Getting out of bed, Leah went over to her desk, waking up her laptop. Dragging her mouse over the screen, Leah clicked on her internet history and scrolled down to the image link that had been provided with the article about the Hales. Leah opened the link in a new tab, watching the image load.

"Laura." Leah breathed out as she let her mouse hover over the teenage girl's face. The knowing smile displayed on Laura's face was the same one Leah had seen in her semi-dream.

Shaking her head, Leah closed her laptop and got back in bed. It had to have just been coincidence—Leah had seen the picture before she went to bed. Laura's face was in her mind already and her mind had just been making something up to go along with what Derek had said earlier. It didn't mean anything. Leah forced herself not to dwell on it.

Settling back into bed, Leah closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, "Think of something else." she said to herself, "Happy things."

But her mind wasn't letting that happen. Leah found herself tossing and turning all night. Memories that had been buried in her subconscious began to surface, bringing up a past that Leah wasn't even aware she had.

* * *

 **A/N: ~Memories~ Leave me some nice reviews? xox**


	6. All Eyes on Him

Leah slammed her locker door shut as she pulled up my elbow pads. She looked down at herself, the upside down '42' staring at her. Originally, Leah wanted the number 24 for her lacrosse jersey, since that was her lucky number, but Stiles had taken the number before Leah could, which was a whole argument.

She blew out a breath and looked around the empty girls' locker room; the soccer team didn't start their season until the spring and the track and field team was in their off season so Leah had the locker room to herself.

After she had her things situated, Leah spun around and let the noise of her cleats echo around the room as she walked out into the hall. She headed down to the boys' locker room and spotted Scott coming down the hall.

"Did you talk to Allison?" Leah called out to him.

Scott didn't even acknowledge her as he turned into the boys' locker room. Leah felt her brow furrow as she followed after him. He was supposed to talk to Allison about ditching her at Lydia's party. The rest of the weekend passed and Leah knew Scott hadn't talked to her during the school day; Leah had spent most of her free time with Allison and Scott hadn't shown up once.

"Scott." Leah followed him into the boys' locker room, "Did you talk to Allison? I just need a yes or a no—"

"Kane!" One of the guys shouted, "Dude!"

"Oh, shut up." Leah rolled her eyes, "You just called me dude." Leah looked at Harry, who gave her a wide eyed look while he stood in his towel, hands on his hips. Leah rolled her eyes again and dramatically put her hand over her eyes.

"Happy, Harry?" Leah sang out. He grumbled in response. Leah smirked a bit before feeling someone slam into her.

"Hey!" Leah dropped her hand from her eyes. She glared at Stiles as he gave her a cocky grin as he walked past her. Leah let out a sigh before following after him. "How can you be an asshole throughout the entire day? Doesn't it ever get tiring?"

"Does it ever get tiring being a bitch?" Stiles shot back as they weaved through the locker room.

He glanced over his shoulder at her to see Leah's middle finger up and an unamused expression on her face. Stiles rolled his eyes at Leah before turning back as they passed Scott. Leah stopped walking as Stiles kept going before backtracking.

"Hey!" Stiles crooned, "Did you apologize to Allison?"

"Yeah." Scott breathed out. Leah let out a groan of frustration and rolled her head back.

"So you'll answer him, but not me?" Leah asked, flinging a hand out to motion to Stiles. Stiles looked at her.

"Because I'm his best friend. Of course he's going to answer me, not the bottle blonde bitch."

"For the last time, you've known me since I was six and my hair's been the same color."

"I don't know that. Maybe you started dyeing it when you were really young—"

"Is she giving you a second chance or…?" Leah cut Stiles off with the more important question.

"Yeah." Scott said in the same tone he answered Stiles before, softly without a lot of emotion.

"Yeah! All right." Stiles bobbed his head with a smile, "So everything's good." He said, mainly to himself as he started to walk away. Scott didn't look good. He was sweating and a little pale. Leah chewed on her bottom lip as Scott answered Stiles' rhetorical question,

"No." He breathed out. Stiles came back round the corner, eyebrows raised.

"No?" Stiles and Leah both asked at the same time. They shared a glare before turning back to Scott.

"Remember…the hunters?" Leah's brow furrowed as she crossed her arms over her stomach,

"Of course I remember the hunters, you told me that they—"

"Her dad is one of 'em." Scott cut Leah off. Leah felt her jaw drop as Stiles shifted his weight.

"Her dad—?" Stiles started

"Shot me—" Scott overlapped as Leah let her arms drop, bringing up one hand to chew on a fingernail.

"Allison's father…?" Leah asked, brow still furrowed.

"With a crossbow." Scott whispered out. Leah glanced at Stiles to see how he was reacting. His hand was on his hip and he looked a little confused as he rolled forward and went,

"Allison's father—"

"Yes! Her father!" Scott shouted out.

Leah looked around the locker room, grateful that it had pretty much cleared out before Scott started talking about crossbows and hunters.

"Oh, my God." Scott whispered and Leah knew he was getting himself worked up over the realization.

"No, Scott." Stiles shoved in front of Leah to get to their best friend. He slapped Scott's face as Scott made his pained puppy dog expression.

"What am I gonna do?" Scott asked.

"Snap back. You okay? Hey, all right? He didn't recognize you, right?" Stiles asked as Scott continued to freak. Scott stopped when Stiles asked if Mr. Argent recognized him.

"No. N-no. I don't think so."

"Does she know about him?" Stiles asked his next question.

"Oh, I don't know." Scott paused for a moment before getting worried again, "What if she does?" Scott started to get worked up again, "She's gonna kill me, guys." He whined out as he slammed his head back against the locker. Finstock's whistle echoed through the locker room, signaling the start of practice.

"Okay, just focus on lacrosse." Stiles started getting Scott's gear out of the locker and shoving it at Scott, "Okay, here, Scott. Take this." He pushed the lacrosse stick into Scott's hands, "Take this, and focus on lacrosse for now, okay? That's all you gotta do, yeah?"

"Lacrosse." Scott mumbled as Stiles hit Scott's shoulder.

"Here we go!" With every word spoken, Stiles slammed his hand against Scott's shoulder before walking past Leah and out to the field. Leah stepped up to Scott as he dropped his pads to the ground, letting out a whine.

"Scott, come on." Leah said as he rested his head back again, "You're first line, you've gotta go out there." She shrugged, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Did she say anything to you? About werewolves?" Scott asked.

"Oh, yeah, totally, we had a nice conversation about them…" Leah trailed off before giving Scott a look, "No, we didn't." Scott whined again, but he started to pick up his pads.

"What if she knows? Her dad tried to _kill me_." He whispered.

"But like, isn't that in the Dad Code? To threaten and try to kill your daughter's boyfriend? Maybe he was just scaring you." Leah shrugged. Scott gave her an unamused look and Leah sighed, "Or not."

"Just gotta focus on lacrosse like Stiles said." Scott said as he walked past her.

"Oh so now we're listening to Stiles?!" Leah called after him, "Suddenly he's the one with all the _great_ ideas!?"

"Don't see you coming up with any better ones!" Scott called back. Leah grumbled but followed after her best friend.

For the first actual practice of the season, Coach had them doing one on ones. He made Jackson the defense and the rest of the team the offense. Leah ended up behind Scott a little ways in the back of the line. Stiles towards the end of the line, even though he had gotten to the field before Scott and Leah.

Leah watched almost every one on first line get knocked on their asses because of Jackson. She had to admit that Jackson was a really good player, but he didn't have the speed or the reflexes Scott now had and Leah was excited to see the two of them go up against each other.

"McCall!" Coach called out, getting Scott's attention, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Coach blew his whistle and Scott kicked off into a run.

Leah gripped her lacrosse stick a bit tighter as Scott got closer to Jackson…only to watch Jackson knock Scott on his ass. She grimaced and made a little noise as Scott rolled over on the ground, groaning slightly.

"Hey, McCall. Hey, McCall!" Coach sounded like he was laughing as he went over to Scott. Jackson stood over him and Leah could only imagine the smug smirk on his face.

"My—my grandmother can move faster than that." Coach said as Scott got to his feet, "And she's dead. You think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother?" Leah chewed on her bottom lip as Coach teased Scott.

"Yes, Coach." Scott mumbled, but it was loud enough for the whole team to hear.

"I can't hear you." Coach taunted. Leah felt her fists instinctively clench as she watched the exchanged. As much as she loved Coach's snark, she didn't like him taking it out Scott.

"Yes, Coach." Scott said a bit louder, but it sounded like there was a little growl to it.

Coach patted Scott's back and whispered something in Scott's ear before straightening up. Scott jogged back to the line as Coach walked away, waving his hand in the air.

"McCall's gonna do it again! McCall's gonna do it again!" He said in a taunting tone.

Scott stopped right in front of Leah and she glanced up at him to see his eyes flash gold. Leah leaned out of line to peer down at Stiles, trying to catch his eye, but Stiles was staring at Scott intently. Leah stepped back into line, turning to face Scott's back. She watched his stance, seeing how tense it was and how he was holding his lacrosse stick.

"This is _so_ not gonna end well." Leah mumbled under her breath.

"Let's go!" Coach blew his whistle and Scott took off.

Leah watched him scoop up the ball and head straight for Jackson just as he did previously. Except this time instead of Scott being knocked back, Jackson was. And hard. Leah watched Scott collide with Jackson, sending him to the ground. The whole team let out a collective _oh!_ as they all grimaced.

Scott fell to his knees, dropping his lacrosse stick and clutching his head. Jackson groaned, not getting to his feet and everyone surged forward to Jackson. Leah realized what was happening, pushing against some of the guys to get to Scott, just as Stiles ran past her on the outside of the herd.

Coach was yelling at everyone to give Jackson some room as Stiles got to Scott. Leah tried to push her way out of the crowd and get to the boys. Stiles was helping Scott to his feet, looking around himself and making eye contact with Leah. Leah tried to silently communicate with him, but Stiles wasn't getting it. He tilted his head towards the locker room, urging her to follow them. Leah grumbled to herself as she pushed out of the circle around Jackson.

"Kane! Stay where you are!" Finstock yelled at her. Leah stopped in her tracks, silently debating to comply or just continue into the locker room.

Choosing the former, Leah stayed where she was, fists balling up. Leah slowly turned around, reaching up to take off her helmet. She blew out a breath and surveyed the bleachers seeing some of her classmates looking worried. Her eyes fell on a familiar leather jacketed man. Derek was watching Stiles and Scott run off of the field before looking back at Leah. Leah felt her stomach knot up as she remembered the dream she had about his sister, but she pushed the feeling down and away.

She looked back at the circle of boys around Jackson—no one was paying attention to her. Looking back at Derek, Leah started towards Derek. Once she got to him, Leah grabbed his jacket sleeve and dragged him behind the bleachers.

"Why are you here?" She asked, tilting her head as she looked up at him. "Nostalgia?"

"I was more into basketball." Derek answered.

"Great." Leah raised her eyebrows, "Then you know they practice in the gym. So again, I ask, why are you here?"

"Just keeping an eye on Scott."

"So am I." Leah straightened up a bit, "And so is Stiles. Trust me, he's got plenty of eyes on him." Derek raised his eyebrows at Leah, not responding, "Just leave him alone. Leave _us_ alone. And stop hanging around high school lacrosse practices. It's weird and I'll report it." Leah widened her eyes at Derek before walking away from him.

Walking back onto the field, Leah went over to one of the benches, sitting down and taking a swig from her water bottle. One of the guys brought Jackson over to the bench and sat him down next to Leah. Leah pursed her lips, not even trying to hide her disgust as she shifted over on the bench a bit.

"Your little boyfriend knocked my ass to the ground." Jackson grumbled.

"Oh I saw." Leah grinned, but didn't look at Jackson, "And it was hilarious."

"Not gonna be so funny when I tell Coach he's on steroids." Jackson shot back. Leah raised her eyebrows as she looked over at Jackson.

"Hmm, well they're probably gonna give you a shot of cortisone for your shoulder so you can play in Saturday's game and if you tell Coach that Scott's on drugs, then he'll have to test the whole team and when your pee comes up positive, you'll have to sit out." Leah sighed before she shrugged, "Then I'll get to play as will Scott because Scott isn't on drugs!" Leah laughed a bit as she made a face, lifting her hand up in the air. Jackson fixed her with a glare. "Nice try though. Really, A for effort." Leah made her hand into an okay sign.

Jackson grumbled to himself as some of the other guys came over. Leah looked up at Kyle, who gave her a grin, "Coach is calling it since Scott pretty much separated Jackson's shoulder."

"Fantastic." Leah smiled back at him, "I wasn't in the mood to practice anyway." She glanced to Jackson, "Don't get better soon." She purposely hit his hurt shoulder, getting him to grimace in pain.

Leah got to her feet and met Kyle's high five before grabbing her stuff as well as Scott's and Stiles' things they had left behind.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Leah nodded at the guys that were around the bench.

The guys bid Leah goodbye and she walked off the field. She headed for the boys' locker room, nudging the door open to find that it was empty—there was no sign of Scott or Stiles. Leah sighed and went down the hall to the girls' locker room. She dumped all of the boys' things into her duffel bag before she changed out of her lacrosse gear.

Digging her phone out of her backpack, Leah picked up her things, heading out of the locker room. She unlocked her phone to find seven unread messages from Stiles and three voicemails. Leah deleted the voicemails without listening and went to the texts.

 _shit went down in the locker room_

 _taking scott home, we have to talk_

 _where the hell are you?_

 _i thought you were behind us but you just disappeared! great timing tbh!_

 _BARBIE!_

 _ANSWER ME!_

 _jfc leah._

Sighing, Leah exited out of the Stiles' messages and went to Scott's name, starting to compose a text to him

 _You okay?_

She hit the send button as she pushed out of the school. The sun was beginning to set as Leah hurried down the front steps of the school. She put her board on the ground, pushing off of pavement and heading towards her house.

By the time Leah got home, Scott had texted her back with a simple "Yeah." Leah rolled her eyes and pushed through the front door. There was a note from her dad on the front mirror, telling Leah he had picked up another shift so he could take off for her game on Saturday. Leah took in a breath as she peeled off the note—she still hadn't told her parents that she hadn't made first line and wouldn't be playing in the game on Saturday.

Her phone started to buzz as she walked into the kitchen. Leah glanced down to see that her brother was calling her. Tapping her finger against the green answer button, Leah pressed her phone to her ear, "Sup, bro?"

" _Finally answering my calls?"_ Connor replied. Leah's brow furrowed as she opened up the fridge door.

"Uh, I called you back. Twice." Leah pointed out.

" _No, you didn't."_ Connor called her out. Leah paused her reach for a Gatorade.

"What? No, I swear, I called you back." Leah moved her phone away from her ear to look into her recent calls. There was no sign of her calls to Connor, "Huh, guess I just thought I did. Weird."

" _Yeah…"_ Connor trailed off. There was a pause as Leah took out a Gatorade from the fridge along with some things to start for dinner, " _So catch me up, how's everything?"_

"Everything's good." Leah nodded, "Just got back from lacrosse practice."

" _How's Scott?"_ Connor asked.

"Fine." Leah lied, "Yeah, he's good. I think it was just adrenaline. Pretty sure he exaggerated the whole thing." Leah scoffed, trying to play it off.

" _Well…that's good to hear. Glad he's okay."_ Connor played along with Leah's lie, not wanting to give himself up either.

"Hey, weird question, but do you remember a Derek Hale?" Leah asked, leaning her hand against the counter.

" _Uh…yeah. Leah, we talked about this."_ Connor was confused as to why Leah was bringing Derek up again like they had never talked about him before.

"We did?"

" _Yeah, on Friday after you stowed away in his car to make sure Allison got home safe. You said he was kinda creepy."_

"Well, he is." Leah agreed, "Sorry, I must've forgot I asked you."

" _Is everything okay? Did something else happen on Friday night after we got disconnected?"_

"What? No! Nothing happened." Leah scoffed, "I just tripped over myself and dropped my phone, I'm peachy keen."

" _…Okay."_ Connor sounded unsure, " _You'd tell me if anything happened though, right?"_

"Yes, yeah, of course." Leah quickly said, "Don't worry about me."

" _Oh I don't. I worry about the people who have to deal with you."_

"Rude." Leah replied, getting a laugh from Connor.

" _Hey, don't tell Mom and Dad, but I'm coming home on Saturday."_

 _"_ What? Why?"

" _To see you and Scott play!"_

"Uh…you don't have to do that." Leah made a face even though Connor couldn't see her.

" _Too late. I am. And I'm gonna go before you try to stop me."_

 _"_ You're ridiculous." Leah pulled the phone away from her ear to speak it into it before clicking the end button.

She set her phone on the counter and took in a breath, shoving her hand through her hair before starting to make dinner.

A half an hour later, Tara came through the kitchen door, seeing Leah taking something out of the oven.

"Something smells good." Tara said. Leah looked up at her mom's entrance. She held the pan up and shrugged,

"It's just chicken parm." Leah placed it on the stove, taking the oven mitts off as her mom came over to kiss her cheek hello.

"Still smells delicious." Tara said with a smile, rubbing Leah's shoulder. She stepped around the island and sat down on one of the stools, "I have a proposition for you." Tara folded her arms on the island. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked at her mom, waiting for her to continue, "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow after work and I was wondering if you could pick me up."

"Can't you drive yourself home?" Leah asked.

"You know how I get after I get blood drawn." Tara reminded her, "And your dad is working that evening and I would wait for him, but I don't want to be stuck in the hospital for an extended period of time."

"So dad would drive you to work and then have his car so I would get…your car?"

"For the day." Tara nodded.

"That's tempting…"

"You know I'm not really asking, right?" Tara made a face at Leah, who returned the expression.

"I'm aware."

"Good, glad we settled that." Tara pressed her hands on the counter, leaning forward to grab the plates and silverware to set the table.

"It's just us two tonight." Leah called out, "Dad's picked up another shift."

"Why?" Tara asked, looking to Leah.

"To come see me play on Saturday." Leah quickly mumbled under her breath. She glanced at her mom who had an eyebrow arched.

"Did you make first line?" Tara asked. Leah opened her mouth to say something, but Tara cut her off, jumping to conclusions, "Honey, that's fantastic! Why didn't you tell anyone? Does Connor know? He's going to be so excited when he finds out that—"

"I didn't make first line." Leah abruptly cut her mom off, "I'm on probation because of…some stuff. So I'm not playing on Saturday." Leah rolled her lips in and looked down at the chicken dish.

"Leah, why didn't you tell anyone?" Tara's question was the same, but this time instead of excitement it was full of pity.

"Because I didn't want you guys to be disappointed in me." Leah truthfully admitted, not looking at her, "I mean, Connor got first line his freshman year and…I don't know, he's always saying how I should be first line and I knew I would just make everyone disappointed if I…wasn't." Leah finished, sighing and looking up at her mom with a small smile.

"Honey, we're proud of you no matter what line you make." Tara said, coming over to Leah. Leah rolled her eyes and scrunched up her features.

"Yeah, this is beginning to sound like a sitcom." Leah said, getting a laugh from her mom.

"We'll still come to the game on Saturday." Tara said as she squeezed Leah's shoulders.

"Thanks, mom." Leah gave her mom a small smile. Tara kissed Leah's cheek before going back to set the table.

Leah strained out the pasta, putting it into a bowl and bringing it out with the dish full of the chicken. While Leah and Tara were getting ready for dinner, the doorbell rang, causing Leah and Tara to share a glance. Leah made a face before pressing her finger to her nose. Tara rolled her eyes but went to answer the door, Leah following behind—curious to see who was at the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Kane." Leah made a face as she heard a familiar voice.

"Derek Hale." Tara mused as Leah stepped around the corner, "I haven't seen you in ages." Leah's jaw dropped at the sight of Derek Hale standing on the stoop in front of her house.

"I know, I'm sorry. It didn't feel right coming back here since…" Derek trailed off.

Leah couldn't believe what was happening. Derek Hale was talking to her mom like they had been best friends. Derek Hale, the werewolf that killed the girl in the woods, practically stalked Leah and her friends, was now chatting it up with her mom. She could kill him.

"Well, come on in. We were just about to eat, if you're hungry." Tara said, stepping aside to let Derek in.

"Uh, Mom, maybe that's not such a good—" Leah chimed in, getting both Derek and Tara's attention.

"Leah, it's fine. I've known Derek for a long time. Your brother and him used to be friends." Tara said, practically pulling Derek inside.

"So I've heard." Leah mumbled under her breath, practically shooting daggers at Derek. She had specifically told him to leave her alone and yet, here he was—in her house. Leah clenched her fists and spun away from the two, stalking into the kitchen.

"Speaking of Connor, I actually stopped by to see if he was here." Derek spoke up.

"No, he's still at school." Tara informed Derek, even though Derek knew full well where Connor was, "But next time he's home, you two should get together, if you'll be around till then."

"Oh he will be." Leah mumbled to herself as she grabbed her phone from the counter.

"Honey, come join us." Tara said, getting Leah to look over to where Derek was sitting in Connor's seat at the table.

Leah swallowed back her anger and waved her hand in the air, "I just want to wash my hands." Tara nodded and Leah walked past the table, resisting the urge to smack Derek upside the head. She took the stairs two at a time and went into the upstairs bathroom, locking the door behind her and taking out her phone. Figuring Derek could hear her with his werewolf hearing, Leah quickly turned on the sink to full blast, hoping that would be enough.

Clicking on Stiles' name, Leah pressed the call button, placing the phone against her ear as it rang. The call went to voicemail and Leah cursed him before the beep.

"Hey, uhm, Derek Hale is at my house. Like _right now_. He showed up on my front stoop, totally unannounced and now he's about to eat dinner with us as if we're all friends. Which we aren't! I'm having dinner with a werewolf! So, uh, I can't believe I'm asking you for this, but help would be appreciated!" Leah hung up and quickly washed her hands before turning off the sink and heading back downstairs.

Dinner went smoothly. Leah stayed quiet and let her mom direct the conversation with Derek. Derek had disappeared with his sister after the fire killed their family, so Tara believed it was time to catch Derek up on everything that he missed. When Derek asked Leah about lacrosse, Leah gave him short answers; he already knew everything from his lurking on the sidelines for most of practice.

"Is Laura back in town too?" Tara asked towards the end of dinner.

"I actually don't know." Derek said, moving his hands under the table, "The last time I spoke with her, she said she was headed here, but that was weeks ago." Leah felt her brow furrow at Derek's confession. He had come into the video store to rent Laura's favorite movie. "That's pretty much why I came back, to see if she was still here." Derek shrugged, "Laura's always been a floater though."

"Oh, you used to love Laura." Tara said, smiling at Leah. Leah cocked an eyebrow as she played with her food, "She would always play dress up with you and Cora and you'd be Little Red Riding Hood and Cora would be the big bad wolf." Tara smiled fondly at the memory.

"How ironic." Leah mused, glancing over to Derek with a smirk.

"You should give Laura a call, catch up." Tara suggested, reaching out for Leah. Leah opened her mouth to respond when Derek cut her off,

"Well, I could give Laura Leah's number when I see her." Derek suggested, "I don't know how long it'll take, but it's worth a shot." Leah pursed her lips at Derek as Tara grinned at him.

"That's a great idea." Tara nodded, "Remind me to give you Leah's number before you go."

"What the fuck?" Leah mouthed to herself, not understanding what was happening.

"Here, since you cooked, I'll do the dishes." Tara stood up from the table, gathering up her plate along with Leah and Derek's, "Derek, it was great to see you again. I'll tell Connor you stopped by." Leah pushed out of her chair at the same time Derek did. Tara walked over to give Derek a one armed hug,

"Thanks, Mrs. Kane." Derek gave her a grin as he stepped out of the hug. Tara rubbed his arm before heading into the kitchen.

Leah walked by Derek, silently indicating that he should follow her into the foyer. Her arms were crossed over her stomach as she turned to glare at Derek.

"Honestly, what the fuck?" Leah asked. Derek shoved his hands into pockets, "I specifically told you to stay away and yet you somehow thought that was a dinner invitation?" Leah tilted her head to the side, thinking to herself for a moment before shaking her head. She turned away from Derek, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked, stepping up behind Leah.

"To Scott's. Gonna tell him the latest creepy stalker move you pulled in your creepy stalker game." Leah looked over her shoulder at Derek, reaching for the door knob.

"I'm not playing any games." Derek shook his head, "Just like Scott isn't playing in Saturday's lacrosse game." Leah took in a breath and fully turned to look at Derek.

"And why not?" She lifted her chin up a bit.

"I saw him out there on the field, Leah. You did too. He shifted."

"That—he didn't shift." Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He just hit Jackson, I do that."

"Hard enough to dislocate his shoulder?" Derek asked, eyebrows raising. Leah was quiet, "Didn't think so."

"So what?"

"So what if he plays on Saturday and shifts—which he will, all eyes on him, including the hunters?"

"Hunters?" Leah played dumb, getting Derek to sigh.

"I know he told you about what happened."

"Yeah and it was your fault." Leah stepped closer to Derek, "You dragged him out there." Leah pointed out, shoving a finger into Derek's chest. "You got him shot."

"And then I _saved_ _him_. They would've killed him if I wasn't there."

"Are you expecting a _thank you_?" Leah asked, brows furrowing, "I know what you did. I know you bit Scott and I know you killed the girl in the woods. Saving him _once_ doesn't erase all the other shitty things you did." Derek took in a breath, trying to keep his cool.

"If he plays on Saturday, he's going to shift. I'm not letting some stupid sixteen year old be the reason I'm killed."

"Scott is _not_ some stupid sixteen year old." Leah snapped back, defending her friend. "He's playing on Saturday and there's nothing you can do about it." She smirked at Derek. Derek took a step closer to Leah, looking down at her.

"Leah, if Scott plays in Saturday's game, I will not hesitate to rip his throat out. With my teeth." Derek threatened looking serious. Leah pushed away the feeling of fear, pushing up on her tippy toes to threaten Derek right back,

"Derek, I swear to God, if you come near him, I will _end_ you."

The two of them stared at each other in tense silence for few moments before Tara's voice broke them apart.

"Derek!" Tara's voice made Derek look away first, his scowl turning into a smile as Tara came into the foyer, "I made you up a plate in case you get hungry later on. And here's Leah's number for Laura." Leah tried not to react, taking in a breath and clenching her fists.

"You really didn't have to do that." Derek said as he took the plate. Tara waved her hand in the air as if it was not a big deal, Leah crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes, "Have a good night." He bid Tara goodnight before looking back at Leah, "And uh, remember what I said, Leah." Derek nodded at Leah. Leah raised her eyebrows but didn't respond as Derek walked out of house.

"What did he say to you?" Tara asked, as Leah shut the front door.

"Just gave me some tips on lacrosse." Leah shrugged, "I'm gonna go take a shower and get some homework done." Tara nodded and Leah made her way up the stairs and went into the bathroom.

After her shower, Leah wrapped herself in a towel, drying herself off before going over to the sink. She wiped away the fog on the mirror so she could see herself. Leah reached up with a towel clad hand to squeeze some excess water out of her hair.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Leah glanced over to the door. She wrapped the towel back around herself and went to open the door, figuring it was just her mom. Instead, Stiles was on the other side. Leah's eyes went wide and she quickly shut the door in Stiles' face.

"What are you doing here?!" Leah yelled out as Stiles cried out, "Are you in _just_ a towel?!"

"Stiles!" Leah stomped her foot, "What are you doing here?!"

"You said you needed help! That…that _Derek_ was here." Stiles' voice went quiet.

Leah pressed her hand to her forehead in disbelief. She looked around the bathroom, trying to find something else besides a towel to dress herself in. She spotted her mom's bathrobe and quickly tied it around herself, thankful it was big and fluffy and went below her knees.

"You suck." Leah said as she opened the bathroom door. "And you take things way too literally."

Stiles' hand was over his eyes and he made a face. Leah stepped by him and went to her bedroom. Stiles dropped his hand from his eyes, seeing that Leah was no longer in the bathroom and turning to see her walking to her bedroom. He went to follow her only to have the door slam in his face again. It reopened a few moments later, a fully clothed Leah standing in the doorway.

Stiles stepped past Leah into her room and flopped into her desk chair, "Sure." Leah made a face at Stiles' actions, "Whatever."

"So? What happened with Derek?"

"We had dinner. Me, my mom and him." Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest and shrugging.

"That's it?" Stiles made a face, obviously disappointed nothing else had happened.

"Uh, then he threatened me—"

"Really?" Stiles leaned forward, eyebrows raising.

"Well, Scott, technically." Leah scratched her temple, "He saw what happened on the lacrosse field. Said he wolfed out, but-"

"No, he did. And even more so in the locker room." Stiles sighed. Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles, waiting for him to explain. Stiles stared back at her, "Oh, do you want me to—"

"Explain? Yeah, that'd be great." Leah nodded.

"Scott wolfed out in the locker room and tried to kill me." Stiles simply said. Leah blinked and held out a hand,

"He tried to _kill you_?"

"He didn't succeed, obviously."

"Unfortunately." Leah said at the same time. Stiles glared at her and Leah raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to start something. Stiles relaxed back into the chair and Leah went over to sit on her bed, "That doesn't sound like Scott at all." Leah tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, no shit."

"He can't control it, can he?" Leah asked, looking up at Stiles.

"Lacrosse makes him angry and when he's angry—"

"He goes all Hulk." Leah finished with a sigh. Stiles pointed at her, agreeing, "Fuck, okay. I'll figure something out." Leah slumped down on her bed, looking away from Stiles.

" _We'll_." Stiles corrected her. Leah glanced over to him, eyebrows raised.

"So we're working together now." Leah stated.

"Two heads are better than one."

"Especially if one can't concentrate for five seconds—"

"And the other one killed all her brain cells dyeing her hair." Stiles finished, motioning to Leah, who rolled her eyes. Stiles laughed to himself before the two of them settled into an awkward silence.

"I think we're done here." Leah got up from her bed, "Thanks so much for stopping by." She sarcastically said, heading for her bedroom door.

She opened it, making a sweeping gesture to tell Stiles to leave his room. Stiles got up from the chair and walked to the door, but he paused in front of Leah, looking down at her. Leah stared up at him expectantly.

"Uh, what was Derek's threat to Scott?" Stiles asked.

"He's gonna rip Scott's throat out if he plays in Saturday's game."

"Oh, cool." Stiles made a face, pulling the corners of his mouth down. "Great."

"Yep." Leah rolled her lips in, "Alright, bye."

"See ya." Stiles nodded at Leah before stepping out into the hallway. "And don't think I'm forgetting that you asked me for help." Stiles shot a smirk at Leah.

"Bring it up again and I'll kill you." Leah raised her eyebrows as she threatened Stiles. Stiles made a finger gun at Leah and pretended to shoot her with it before heading down the stairs.

Leah followed him down the stairs and watched him go out the front door. She walked through the living room and into the kitchen where her mom was loading up the dishwasher.

"Was that Stiles leaving?" Tara asked as Leah went over to the cabinet.

"Yep." Leah nodded as she pulled out the brownie mix. Tara eyed the brownie mix knowingly, and Leah made up an excuse to get the attention off of Stiles and the brownies, "He just wanted to borrow my copy of the book we're reading in English cause he left his at school."

"That was nice of you." Tara gave Leah a small smile.

"Well, I'm a nice person, what can I say?" Leah shrugged, grinning at bit as her mom rolled her eyes.

"Make sure you run the dishwasher after you're done in here." Tara reminded her. Leah nodded as she took out a missing bowl and the rest of the ingredients to make brownies. "And thanks for dinner tonight. I know it must be hard to bring up Cora after all these years." Leah felt her brow furrow as she opened the packet of brownie mix.

"Uh…yeah, but it's fine." Leah lied, looking up at her mom. Tara gave her a small smile before walking out of the kitchen.

Leah stared into space, trying to remember Cora. There was nothing that Leah could associate with Cora, almost as if she didn't exist. But the way Tara talked about her, Leah knew she was supposed to remember someone named Cora.

* * *

 **A/N: tell me all of your thoughts please and thanks! xox**


	7. Girl or Wolf?

The spoon clinked against the sides of the bowl as Leah chased the last of her cereal down before scooping it up. She brought the spoon to her mouth as Tara walked into the kitchen, her dad behind her.

"Morning." Tara greeted Leah. Leah gave her a smile, watching as her mom and dad walked around the kitchen island.

"I think you have something for me." Leah said after she swallowed her cereal. She held out her hand and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Do you promise to be on time this afternoon?" Tara asked, eyebrows raised just as Leah's were.

"Uh, duh. Yes." Leah made a face, "Punctual is my middle name." She waggled her fingers, "Keys, please."

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Tara asked, looking to her husband. Drew gave her an amused smile before wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"You specifically told me you didn't want to be trapped in the hospital until two in the morning."

"Right." Tara let out a breath, looking at Leah, "Promise?" She asked Leah, eyebrows still raised.

"Yes, promise. _God_." Leah rolled her eyes as Tara dropped the car keys into Leah's palm.

"Thanks!" Leah chirped out before hopping off the stool. She grabbed her cereal bowl and set it on the ground so Webster could drink the leftover milk. "See you at six." Leah said as she turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"It's five thirty!" Tara shouted after Leah. Leah turned around to walk backwards.

"I _know_." Leah made her eyes bigger and moved her head around, "Just seeing if you were paying attention."

"Be careful!" Tara reminded Leah.

Leah grabbed her backpack, and piled on her other duffel bags before she went out the front door. She hurried over to Tara's car, which was lingering in the driveway. It was a manual Toyota that her mom had had since before Leah's time. The air conditioning didn't work and they couldn't get it fixed because they would just total the car, it was that old.

Leah quickly unlocked it and tossed her bags in the trunk before getting into the driver's seat. She reversed out of the driveway and headed towards Scott's house, planning on catching him as he left for school.

She pulled up to the McCall house just as Scott was coming down the front porch steps. Leah manually rolled down her window and beeped the horn to get his attention.

"Hey!" Leah called out as Scott grinned at her.

"You got the car?" He asked, coming up to the window.

"Tara was feeling generous." Leah gave him a charming smile. "Come on, get in. I have stories." Leah unlocked the car letting Scott shove his bike in the back seat before he jogged around to the passenger side door. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell him about Derek's little visit, mostly because she wanted to see his face when she told him.

"You have stories? I have stories too." Scott said as he buckled himself. Leah grinned at him as she shifted the car's gears.

"You go first then." Leah said as Scott reached for the radio.

"My mom thinks you're giving me drugs." Scott casually said.

"One time!" Leah groaned, tipping her head back, "That was one time and it was only weed. And she didn't even find out!" Leah looked at him. Scott shrugged.

"She asked me if I was doing drugs. And I was like _right now?_ And she asked me _when I had ever done drugs_." Scott settled on a station that he liked and sat back as he finished his story.

"Classic Melissa." Leah laughed to herself. "And technically, it wasn't _my_ weed." Leah looked at Scott, "It was Connor's." Scott grinned at her.

"I talked to Stiles about Jackson too." Scott changed subjects, "We talked about Jackson and how I separated his shoulder." Leah made a face and rolled her eyes.

"You didn't separate his shoulder." Scott looked at her, "Okay, well, yeah, _technically_ , but he deserved it." Leah grumbled to herself. There was a beat of silence before Scott opened his mouth again.

"Derek Hale came by and threatened me." Scott said, glancing at her as he settled back into his seat.

"Oh no way!" Leah laughed out, shaking her head. "He came to my house last night too."

"What!?" Scott cried out, head snapping to look at her, "Leah! Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I am telling you! Right now!" Leah cried back, hand waving around a bit.

"Well, what did he do? Did he hurt you?"

"No! No!" Leah let out a sigh, "No, he came over for dinner." She ran her hand through her hair before shifting gears again.

"Dinner!?" Scott cried out, " _What!?"_

"Tara invited him over for dinner!" Leah shouted back, "I had no say in any of it! I was vetoed! Overruled!"

"Oh my God." Scott whispered out, "He threatens to rip my throat out and then goes to your house for a homecooked meal."

"I mean he threatened you to me too." Leah said, glancing at him. Scott met her look, "He said if you played on Saturday…he would rip your throat out."

"Yeah, sounds familiar." Scott sighed. Leah chewed on her bottom lip as she looked back at the road,

"Do you think he's serious?" She asked as she turned into the school parking lot.

"Probably." Scott sighed again, shoving a hand through his mop of hair.

"What are you gonna tell Coach?" Leah asked, finding a parking spot. Scott glanced at her.

"To put you in." Scott simply said with a shrug.

"Really?" Leah asked with a slight smile. "You'd do that?"

"Yeah." Scott nodded.

"I really want you to play, Scott. You deserve it." Leah said, reaching out to rub Scott's arm.

"There's no way, Leah. Derek's gonna kill me if I play in that game." She screwed her mouth to the side.

"There's gotta be something." Leah said, looking out the windshield. "I'll think of something."

"Okay, Leah." Scott pushed out of the car, "Thanks for the ride." Leah nodded at him before turning the car off and pushing out of the car as well.

After dropping off her lacrosse gear, Leah went back into the masses in the hallway to get to her locker. She confidently spun the dial wrong twice before getting it to click open. Leah popped open the door and swung her bag around so it was in front of her. She pulled out the books she didn't need, and exchanged them for books she did need. Zipping her bag back up, Leah shut the locker door and turned to head for homeroom only to come face to face with with Allison's smiling face.

"Hey!" She chirped. Leah jumped a bit before giving her a tight smile in return.

"Morning, Ally." Leah said as she started walking, "How were the hours since I last saw your face?" Allison walked with Leah, her books to her chest. She laughed at Leah's question before getting to what she had come to ask Leah about.

"So a bunch of us were going to go out after Saturday's game." Allison said, "And I was wondering if you wanted come." She offered, glancing at Leah. Leah met her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's the _bunch_?" Leah asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Oh, you know, Lydia, Jackson, me and Scott and Stiles can come too!" Allison grinned, "You should come, it'd be fun." Leah made a face.

"I didn't know things involving Jackson and Lydia could be fun." Leah said, making Allison shake her head, amused with Leah.

"Just think about it okay?" Allison asked with a hopeful expression.

"Okay." Leah droned out, giving in. Allison bobbed her head and went into her homeroom. Leah walked down a few rooms before going into Harris's room.

Leah exited the her class after the first bell rang. She kept her head down, flipping through one of her notebooks to try and find her notes.

"Leah!" Scott called out to Leah as she was walking to class. Leah looked over her shoulder to see him weaving through other students, so she paused and let him catch up.

"Allison's coming to the game on Saturday and Coach said that if I don't play, he's taking me off first line. What do I _do?_ " He whined the last part.

"Uh, play tomorrow's game." Leah said with wide eyes, "Seems like there's nothing you can really do."

"But Derek's gonna kill me." Scott whined again. Leah stopped walking, turning so she could put her hands on his shoulders.

"Then don't play the game." Leah said with a shrug, "It's not worth risking your amazingly, awesome life. Allison will still have a crush on you and you can just be on the bench with me… and Stiles." Leah sighed out, staring at her best friend. "Not a big deal."

"But this was supposed to be my year." He was still whining. Leah let out a huff and rolled her eyes as the bell rang.

"Just get to class, dude, we can figure this out later." She said, patting his shoulders before pushing away from him and heading down the hall.

Leah wanted Scott to play in Saturday's game, she really did, it would be great to start off the season with a win all thanks to Scott instead of Jackson. But if Derek's threat was serious, Leah didn't want to lose her best friend because of some stupid lacrosse game. She would rather him be on the bench and once he had the werewolf thing under control, prove to Coach that he was supposed to be on first line. And hopefully that would coincide with her probation ending.

"For this semester's project, you'll be working on your family histories." Leah's history teacher said, getting her attention, "You'll be researching your family trees. Tell me about where they came from, what they did and where they are now. I expect four to five pages on my desk by spring break." She said, "But for now, I'll pair you up to work on the study guides for Monday's test." Leah looked around the room to see her options as the teacher paired people up.

"Lydia and Leah." She said, making Leah look at her.

She felt her jaw click before looking over to Lydia, who was primly sitting in her seat. Leah gathered up her things and went over to the desk in front of Lydia. She laid her textbook in her lap and sat sideways in the chair, avoiding looking at Lydia.

"I already did a study guide." Lydia said with a sigh.

"Whoop dee doo." Leah droned out, gaze focused on the textbook. Lydia was silent for a moment.

"I could give you a copy if you want." Lydia offered. Leah looked over to her and made a face.

"No thanks." She said before returning to her textbook. Leah worked on her study guide for a few minutes before rubbing her temple.

"Alright, what do you want?" Leah asked, looking to Lydia.

"Hmm?" Lydia asked back, making Leah give her a look.

"What do you want for the study guide?" Leah asked, "Notice how I said, _what_ instead of _how much_." Lydia just stared at Leah for a moment before going into her folder and pulling out a packet of paper, handing it out to Leah.

"Here. Take it." Lydia said, shaking the packet at Leah. Leah eyed Lydia warily.

"Is this a trick?" Leah asked, looking at the packet and then to Lydia. Lydia huffed in annoyance.

"Leah, take the study guide." Leah cautiously reached out to take it.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Leah asked, leafing through the packet, she glanced at Lydia for a second.

"Allison seems to have taken to liking you, so…I'm trying." Lydia took in a breath and pursed her lips.

"Ah." Leah raised her eyebrows as she nodded. Leah looked through the packet, noticing how detailed and organized it was, "This is really good, Lydia." Leah laughed to herself, "Why do you pretend to be so stupid to get ahead?" She mumbled under her breath.

"Because not all of us can have the God given gift of athleticism to get us ahead." Lydia snapped, making Leah look over to her.

Lydia shifted in her seat before looking away from Leah. Leah stared at Lydia for a second before the bell rang, making her jump. Leah started to gather up her things as Lydia stepped over Leah, heading to the door.

Leah was walking from her study period, when she saw Tara and the sheriff come of the office. Leah paused and went back around the corner she had just come from. She peered around the corner of the wall and watched them talk to the vice principal. Leah was too far away to make out what they were saying, but Tara had her hands planted on her hips, in deputy mode. The sheriff did most of the talking before he shook hands with the vice principal and they walked away from him, backs to Leah. Leah slipped out from her hiding place and followed behind them.

"Mom!" She called out, hurrying her step as Tara turned around. Leah came up to her mom as Tara looked behind her at the sheriff. The sheriff caught sight of Leah and gave Tara a nod.

"Don't you have class, Leah?" Tara asked, turning back to face Leah, hands still on her hips.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, "I was careful! Ask Scott! Don't make me walk home!" Leah clasped her hands together in front of herself and made an exaggerated crying face. Tara gave her a look.

"Leah." She stated, still in deputy mode.

"Right, sorry." Leah shook herself off. Tara sighed and looked around herself before looking back at Leah.

"We're instating a curfew because of the murder."

"You can't do that!" Leah cried out, "Tomorrow's the game! And when we win, we were all gonna go out! I was invited out." Leah softly finished, stomping her foot, "And besides, wasn't that like a week ago? Shouldn't you be moving on the more important crimes? I heard there was a break-in." Leah said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and crossing her arms.

"Leah, we're just looking out for your safety." Tara said, face softening a bit, "We don't want anyone else getting hurt." Leah took in a breath and looked away from her mom. She knew exactly who the murderer was and he had been in her house.

"I have to get to class." Leah said, pushing past Tara, looking down at the ground.

"Leah!" Tara called out.

"I'll see you at six thirty!" Leah called back, going down the stairs.

She was heading for her class when someone grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side and against the lockers.

"What the fuck, Stiles!?" Leah shouted at him, yanking her arm back to her body. Leah smacked his chest and glared at him, "You have such serious issues." She breathed out.

"Did you hear about the curfew?" Stiles asked, tone hurried and hushed.

"Yeah." Leah slumped against the lockers, "Apparently they're _just looking out for our safety_." Leah mimicked her mom and rolled her eyes.

"But we know who did it!"

"I know we know! But they don't know what we know!" Leah widened her eyes and Stiles made a face as he tried to untangle her statement. "And we can't just _tell_ our parents." Leah made a face as she shrugged.

"Yeah, but we could do something."

"What? Find the body?"

"Exactly." Stiles raised his eyebrows and nodded, chewing on his bottom lip, "I'm cashing in that favor."

"Oh fuck no." Leah rolled her head, "There's _no way_ I'm helping you find a dead body."

"Yeah you are!" Stiles laughed out before walking away from Leah.

Leah sighed and watched Stiles weave in and out of the crowded hallway. She turned her attention to the other end of the hallway, seeing Scott's back. Looking past him, she saw Lydia and Allison in the middle of the hall, talking to James, who was on the lacrosse team. Leah pushed off the locker and walked past Scott, getting to Allison and Lydia.

"James, let's leave the ladies alone to braid each other's hair, yeah?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows at him. James laughed at her as she looked to Allison with a smile before tilting her head in Scott's direction. Leah maneuvered her and James to go the opposite way, walking with him before slipping out.

"See you on the field." Leah said with a wave before walking down another hallway.

Leah walked into her Math class and sat in her corner seat by the door before the bell rang. Allison hurried in a couple moments later and sat down behind Leah, looking flushed and out of breath. Leah turned around in her seat to look at her.

"Heavy make out session with Scott or something?" Leah asked, cocking a brow. Allison looked at her for a second before getting her joke. Then she let out a breathy laugh.

"Uh, no." She shifted around in her seat, moving her blazer around on her desk. Leah recognized it from the party and picked it up, looking it over.

"Hey, isn't this from Lydia's party?" Leah asked, remembering that Allison had left it in Derek's car.

"Oh not you too." Allison groaned, making Leah look at her with a furrowed brow. "Scott was asking me all these questions about it too."

"Didn't know he was into fashion." Leah mumbled to herself before folding the blazer on Allison's desk.

"No, it wasn't that." Allison shook her head, "He was asking me all these questions about where I got it and how I got it back and about Derek—"

"He asked you about Derek?" Leah asked, brow furrowing again.

"Yeah." Allison whispered out, leaning forward, "I told you he gave me a ride home, right?" Leah nodded, even though she didn't remember Allison saying anything about it, "Right so he kept asking me about what we talked about in the car ride home and apparently they aren't even _friends_. It was weird." Allison finished as the teacher called her up to the board to solve a problem.

"Yeah, weird." Leah whispered after her as she turned to face the front of the classroom.

After the final bell rang, Leah walked out into the parking lot to try and find Scott, only she found that Scott had taken his bike and left her a note saying he had to take care of something. Leah felt her brow furrow as she got into the driver's seat.

She drove out to the entrance of the Preserve, parking her car and getting out, Leah ducked under the chain and headed into the forest.

Leah wrapped her arms around her and walked through the forest, looking around. She knew there was no one out in the Preserve, but still. She had no idea where she was going, just wandering, hoping Derek would pop out like he always did.

"Derek?" Leah called out, after walking for a few more minutes, "Derek?" Leah yelled a little bit louder.

She grumbled to herself and continued to walk forward, debating giving up, but then she found it. The Hale house. Or what was left of it. Leah made a face and shifted her weight, looking around the burnt down house. She felt like she had been there before, but she couldn't remember when or why.

"Doesn't look the same, does it?" Derek's voice said from next to her. Leah jumped, letting out a scared gasp.

"Please stop just appearing out of thin air!" Leah stomped her foot as she looked over at Derek. Derek smirked at her as Leah rolled her eyes, looking back up at the Hale house.

"And it's burnt down, so…I'd hope it wouldn't look the same." Leah said, making a face. She glanced over to him, eyeing him warily.

"Did you put Allison's blazer back in her locker today?" Leah asked. Derek licked his lips and sighed.

"Did you and Scott both plan on annoying me today?" Derek asked back. Leah scoffed.

"Scott's not the annoying one."

"Why are you here, Leah?" Derek asked, ignoring Leah's comment.

"To ask if you put Allison's blazer back in her locker cause that's pretty creepy but also kind of sweet and I'm still confused about what kind of game you're playing." Leah paused, "What's your deal, Derek?" Derek eyed her before looking away.

"Scott's still playing in tomorrow's game." He changed the subject and worded his question to sound more like a statement. Leah shifted her weight.

"Still gonna rip his throat out if he does?" Leah asked back.

"I'm trying to look out for him, Leah." Leah snorted.

"Right. Cause breaking into his home in the middle of the night is _totally_ the right definition of looking out." Leah made a face.

"I said _trying_." Derek seriously said. "Like I said last night, the aggression is gonna take over and he's gonna shift." Derek paused.

"At least it'll be an interesting game." Leah lifted her chin a bit.

"If he plays, everything is going to fall apart."

"Sounds like you know from experience." Leah mumbled under her breath.

She glanced at Derek before shaking her head and going to turn away from him. But then she noticed the massive pile of dirt by the side of the house. Leah raised her eyebrows and then looked to Derek before making a clicking sound with her tongue and walking away.

After finding her car, Leah went back home to an empty house. She had just gotten inside when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Leah looked down to see that Scott had texted her.

 _Found something at derek's._

Leah made a face and quickly turned around, heading back out of the house. She sprinted over to the McCall house and got there just as Stiles' Jeep screeched to a stop at the curb. Leah stopped for a split second as Stiles scrambled out of the Jeep and ran past her. Then she took back off, trying to catch up to Stiles. They ran up the porch steps at the same time and he threw the door open. Both of them tried to get into the house at the same time, but slammed into each other. Leah glared at him before shoving him back and running into the house before him.

She took the stairs two at a time to get to Scott's room. Stiles was behind her and quickly caught up, pushing Leah into the wall to get by her and explode into Scott's room.

"What did you find? How did you find it? Where did you find it?" Stiles rattled off his questions as they stood above Scott, "And, yes, I've had a lot of Adderall, so…" Stiles blinked hard and shook his head before glancing at Leah.

"Sup, Barbie. Glad your plastic didn't break when you slammed into that wall." Leah rolled her eyes and looked back at Scott.

"I found something of Derek's." Scott started

"Yeah no shit!" Leah cried out, throwing her arms up, "That's what the text—"

"Are you kidding?! What!?" Stiles shouted out, cutting Leah off as he rolled forward on his toes.

"There's something buried there- I could smell blood." Leah felt her jaw drop. He _was_ burying a body.

"That's awesome! I mean, that's terrible." Stiles shook his head as Scott tightened the knots on his lacrosse stick.

"Whose blood?" Leah cautiously asked, getting nervous at the thought of a body being found.

"I don't know. But when we do, your dad nails Derek for the murder." Scott got out of his seat and pointed the lacrosse stick at Stiles. Stiles nodded his head.

"And then you help me figure out how to play lacrosse without changing. Because there's no way I'm not playing that game." Scott gave Leah a glance and she nodded, arms crossed over her chest with a determined look.

* * *

Leah was sitting on the bed, reknotting Scott's lacrosse cradle as the boys chattered away. Stiles and Scott had started coming up with a plan on how exactly to find the body. So far, it sounded like they needed to figure out if the scent was the same. Leah went to put in her two cents when her phone buzzed. She looked down to see that it was her alarm, reminding her to get to the hospital to pick up Tara on time.

"Shit." Leah whispered, getting Scott's attention.

"What?" Scott asked her, looking concerned. Leah glanced up at him and flipped the phone to show him the time.

"I have to go pick up Tara." Leah said, screwing her mouth to the side. "She's at the hospital for her doctor's appointment."

"Well, looks like Barbie can't come!" Stiles said, raising his hands up in the air before letting them drop, "Too bad." He pretended to be upset. Leah made a face at him.

"Okay, well, I guess, just text me if you need anything." Leah said, rubbing her eye and shrugging. Scott nodded as Leah took a step back, "And, uh, good luck." Leah said with a nod before turning around and heading down the stairs.

Leah made it to the hospital with five minutes to spare. Settling her in one of the chairs in the waiting room, she picked up a women's magazine to torture herself. The doors slid open and closed as people came in and out. Leah watched a few of them, even seeing Lydia and Jackson walk in together. Lydia took a seat on the opposite wall as Jackson went up to the desk. He was taken down the hall and around the corner by one of the nurses, leaving Lydia in a waiting chair around the corner.

A couple minutes later, Leah heard Lydia speaking. She put the magazine down and leaned a bit to the side, trying to figure out if Lydia was talking to her or to herself. Leah was still pretty unsure so she glanced around the corner to see Lydia's head tilted to the side and she was murmuring to herself. Leah watched her for a moment, seeing her tuck her hair behind her ear—that's when the little blue earpiece became visible. Leah made a face to herself before looking back at the cover of the magazine.

"Leah?" Leah heard Mrs. McCall's voice say from above her. She looked up to see Melissa giving Leah a warm smile. "Your mom's almost done. Do you wanna come back?" She asked. Leah looked around the waiting area before nodding to herself.

"Yeah, yeah that'd be cool." Leah closed the magazine and set it back on the table, she followed Mrs. McCall down the hall, past Lydia, and down another hall.

"So I'm coming to tomorrow's game." Mrs. McCall said, making conversation. Leah lifted her chin at Melissa, making a little noise in approval.

"Scott's really…nervous." Leah settled on, "About starting."

"I'm proud of him." Mrs. McCall said with a warm smile.

"You should be." Leah instantly responded as they slowed down in front of a door.

Mrs. McCall knocked on the door before pushing it open. Leah stepped in after her to see Tara on the examination table, the ultrasound technician sitting in front of the computer.

"Hey, honey." Tara gave Leah a smile, "Just in time. We're almost done."

"Just taking a picture of the baby for your dad." The technician said, glancing over her shoulder at Leah. "Come here and take a look." She said, nodding Leah over. Leah looked at Mrs. McCall, who nodded at her, before Leah took a step closer to the computer.

"See? There she is." The technician pointed to the screen where a clear image of a baby's head was.

"She?" Leah whispered back as she stared at the screen for a second before looking to her mom, "It's a girl?" Leah asked.

"Don't tell your father." Tara said with a small smile. "He doesn't want to know."

"Holy shit." Leah laughed a bit, "There's a _human_ inside of you."

"Yes, I'm aware, thank you." Tara gave her a look, Leah rolled her eyes.

"I think we're about finished here." The technician said as the picture of the baby printed out. "Mrs. Kane—"

"Deputy Kane." Leah corrected her, making Tara smile.

"Deputy Kane." Leah got a pointed look from the technician, "You can clean yourself up and we'll get you out of here."

"You can go wait outside, sweetie." Tara said as Mrs. McCall helped her sit up. Leah nodded and backed out of the room. She let the door shut behind her and then started back down the hallway to where she was waiting before.

When Leah turned the corner, she heard the unmistakable voice of Stiles talking to someone. Leah stopped herself, walking back so she was behind the corner, and poked her head around so she could clearly see him. He had one hand up against the wall and was putting his weight into it as he stared down at…Lydia. Leah put her hand over her mouth as she listened to him try to talk to her.

"Uh, anyway, I always thought that we just had this kinda…connection." Leah snorted at him, "Maybe it would be kinda cool to uh, get to know each other a little better." Stiles finished as Lydia smiled up at him, nodding a bit.

Leah felt her stomach drop at the thought that Lydia had actually been listening to him. Then Lydia pushed her hair back behind her ear, revealing an earpiece. Leah's stomach returned to its normal position as she felt an amused smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"I didn't get any of what you were just saying…was it worth repeating?" Lydia bluntly asked, squinting at Stiles. Stiles blanched and looked utterly embarrassed.

Leah felt someone knock into her shoulder and she looked over to see that Jackson was coming around the corner, rubbing his shoulder.

"Get your cortisone shot?" Leah asked, making him look back at her as she leaned into the wall. Jackson gave Leah the stink eye before shaking his head and walking up to where Lydia was sitting. Leah pushed off the wall and followed behind him for a second before going over to where Stiles was sitting.

"See—" Leah started, making Stiles jump about fifty feet, "if I knew that they had a pamphlet on the menstrual cycle, I would've chosen that instead of the women's magazine."

"Ha, funny." Stiles tossed the pamphlet to the side as Leah stood above him, "What do you want?"

"I want to know how your _connection_ with Lydia works." Leah said with a smug smile. Stiles jutted his chin up as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're hilarious."

"Oh, I know. But your little performance gave me a run for my money." Leah said. She looked over to where Lydia and Jackson were full on making out. "Looks like it didn't work though." Leah said, making a face as she looked back at Stiles.

Stiles looked from Leah to Lydia and Jackson and made a disgusted noise, slipping down into his seat. Leah watched the couple for a moment as they broke away from each other and walked past them and out the double doors.

"So what are you—" Leah started to ask when,

"The scent was the same." Scott's voice made Leah jump about three feet. Leah placed her hand to her chest as she whirled around.

"Oh my God." Leah slapped Scott's chest with each word, "You don't just sneak up on a girl!" Leah cried out as she heard Stiles snort. Scott gave her an apologetic smile. "And what scent was the same?" Leah asked.

"The half of the body the police did find is the same scent that I smelled on Derek's property." Scott explained.

"You sure?" Stiles asked, getting to his feet and standing next to Leah.

"Yes." Scott seriously said as Leah looked in between the boys, not liking where the conversation was going.

"So he did bury the other half of the body on his property." Stiles sighed.

"Which means we have proof he killed the girl." Scott nodded.

"I say we use it." Stiles pointed out, walking past Scott, getting them to follow him.

"How?" Scott asked, looking between Stiles and Leah.

"Tell me something first." Stiles turned and stepped up a bit closer, "Are you doing this because you want to stop Derek, or because you want to play in the game, and he said you couldn't?"

Leah had to hand it to Stiles; there was truth to what he was asking. As much as Scott was a good person, she knew there was also the part of him that wanted to get Derek thrown in jail so that he could play in tomorrow's game and not have to worry about getting his throat ripped out.

"There are bite marks on the legs, Stiles. _Bite marks_." Scott seriously said, rolling forward on his toes a bit.

"Okay. Then we're gonna need a shovel." Stiles sighed and went to walk past Scott, but Leah grabbed his arm.

"Uh, I don't wanna come dig up a body." Leah raised her eyebrows. "I have better things to do on a Friday night." Stiles barked out a laugh and shook her off of him.

"Nice try. You owe me one."

"I swear to _God,_ Stiles, if you make me come out there—"

"Scott, Stiles," Tara's voice came from behind Leah, "What are you two doing here?"

"Uh…" Stiles looked to Scott, who was looking at Stiles,

"Just dropping off something for my mom." Scott came up with a lie, grinning at Tara. Leah made a face at Scott and his not so great lie before she turned around to face her mother.

"Ready?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Let's go before I have to pee." Tara joked. She bid goodbye to the boys and went out the sliding doors.

"So sorry." Leah made a face, not very sorry at all, "I have to go be a good daughter."

"Oh you're far from that." Stiles scoffed, "We'll pick you up after we get the shovels."

"Fuck you." Leah mouthed out as she walked past the boys and outside to where her mom was waiting.

Once home, Leah dropped the car keys into the basket by the door and glanced at her phone to see there was a text from Stiles, warning her that they were on their way. Leah groaned and tapped her phone against her forehead before walking into the living room where her mom was settled on the couch.

"Do you need anything?" Leah asked. Tara waved her hand in the air, indicating she didn't need anything. Leah walked through the living room and into the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder to see her mom was already asleep on the couch. Sighing to herself, Leah went out the kitchen door, walking around the side of the house. She got to the curb as the Jeep pulled up in front of the Kane house.

"I hate you." Leah said as she got into the Jeep.

"Thanks for coming with us." Scott gave her an understanding smile. Leah took in a breath and returned the smile quickly before settling back in her seat.

Stiles drove to the Preserve, maneuvering the Jeep into the forest and towards the Hale house as Scott directed him. Both Scott and Leah talked about their encounters with Derek earlier in the day, finding out that Derek had basically told them the same thing. Stiles let the Jeep idle behind a few trees as they waited for Derek to leave. Once the Camaro drove off, Stiles pulled up to the front of the house.

"I wonder where he went." Leah mused to herself as she climbed out of the Jeep.

"Don't know, don't care." Stiles sighed out, pulling out the shovels and a few flashlights. He handed a flashlight to Leah and a shovel to Scott. As they walked to the dirt pile, Leah let the flashlight float over the skeleton of the house.

"This is exactly how I wanted to spend a Friday night…digging up a dead body."

"Wait, something's different." Scott held out his shovel to stop them from walking any further.

"Different how?" Stiles asked as Leah laid the beam of light on him.

"I don't know." Scott shook his head, taking a step forward to the pile of dirt.

"Let's just get this over with." Leah mumbled, "Dead bodies freak me out." The boys started to dig up the body.

Leah wasn't scared of what they would find, she just didn't want Derek coming back and ripping out their throats. He wouldn't be very happy to find them digging up his victim.

A few minutes later, Scott let out a groan and stopped digging. He stood up straight and looked to Leah, "This is taking too long." He complained

"Keep going." Stiles said as he tossed some dirt over his shoulder, hitting Leah. Leah flinched and made a face as Stiles kept digging. Scott blew out a breath but complied, going back to digging.

"What if he comes back?" Scott asked.

"I have a plan for that." Stiles let out a breath, "You run one way, I'll run the other and whoever he catches first…too bad." Stiles made a face. Leah rolled her eyes,

"What about me?"

"Oh you're fucked." Stiles laughed.

"Great." Leah rolled her eyes.

As the boys kept digging, Leah walked around the house, going to the side and walking along the side of the house before getting to the back entrance. Leah stepped up onto the back porch, feeling the boards creaking under her weight. The beam of light from the flashlight scanned the porch, showing nothing but rotting wood and half burnt porch furniture.

The inside of the house wasn't much better. It was like the cottage from the Blair Witch Project, minus the creepy ass dude. For the moment at least. Leah walked into what seemed to have been the living room and let her hand drag across the torn up couch. Deep down, she knew she had been in this exact room before; the couch, as torn up as it was, looked so familiar.

Two very girly screams made Leah jump and look to where the boys where. _Shit_. Derek had probably come back. Leah scrambled back outside, running through the front of the house and out the front door. She hurried across the front porch and jumped down off of the side, skidding to a stop behind them.

"What the hell!?" Leah cried out, making them both scream again. "That's not a girl!" Leah pointed the flashlight to the wolf's head that was at the bottom of the hole. "That's a dead wolf! A dead, dead wolf!"

"I thought you said you smelled blood, as in _human_ _blood_." Stiles said, glancing at Scott.

"I told you something was different!" Scott shouted back. Leah rubbed her hand on her head before shoving it through her hair.

"This doesn't make sense." She whispered to herself, turning around in a slow circle, "We gotta get out of here. Or else we're gonna be in that grave right next to the wolf." Leah said, as she came back to face the boys. Scott nodded.

"Yeah."

"Okay, help me cover this up." Stiles said, leaning over the hole and flipping the tarp back over the wolf's head. Scott started to help Stiles as Leah let the flashlight go around the woods.

"Wait, pause." Stiles said to Leah. Leah snorted and kept moving the flashlight, "Leah! Stop moving the flashlight!" Leah stopped moving the flashlight, "Over to the left a bit." She did as she was told. "Right there." Leah stopped, letting the light shine on a purple flower sticking out of the ground.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked.

"You see that flower?" Stiles pointed to the purple flower.

"What about it?" Scott asked. Leah felt her brow furrow as she realized what the flower was,

"Wolfsbane." Leah whispered as Stiles said, "I think it's wolfsbane."

"What's that?" Scott asked, making Leah turn to him, shining the flashlight on his back.

"Uh…Haven't you ever seen _The Wolf Man_?" Stiles asked.

"No." Scott truthfully answered.

"What?!" Leah cried out, "You're joking."

"Lon Chaney Junior? Claude Rains?" Stiles asked, getting blank looks from Scott, "The original, classic werewolf movie?"

"No!" Scott shouted. Leah let out an audible huff as Stiles groaned. "What?" Scott asked as Stiles climbed out of the hole.

"You are so unprepared for this." Stiles mumbled.

Leah watched him go over to the flower and gently tug it up, revealing a rope attached to the roots of the flower. Stiles tugged at the rope, following it around until it hit the hole where the wolf's head was buried. Leah looked down at the hole and let out a little scream before clapping her hand over her mouth.

"What?" Scott asked, looking at her.

Leah pointed the flashlight down into the hole. Scott looked down and jumped a bit. Stiles came over and looked into the hole, flailing a bit when he saw what they saw. There was no longer a wolf head in the hole, it was a half a body. Half a girl's body that looked _very_ familiar.

"Okay, we need to go. _Now_. Derek's gonna be back any minute." Leah said, looking around the property with her flashlight. She wasn't a fan of what they had just found.

The boys recovered the body with the tarp, tying it in like nine hundred knots. Leah helped them put dirt back on the body, filling the hole back up before brushing her hands off on her jeans. She had dirt smeared on her face and sweat was dripping down her face. Explaining why there was dirt all over her to her parents was going to be tricky, but Leah would figure something out.

Stiles, Scott and Leah headed back to the Jeep, throwing the shovels in the back hatch. Leah climbed into the back seat as Stiles and Scott took the seats up front. Stiles started up the Jeep as Leah opened her mouth, "How the fuck-"

"I don't know!" Scott shouted back, cutting Leah off.

"But was she a girl or a wolf?" Leah asked.

"Maybe she's a werewolf." Stiles mused. Scott and Leah both looked at Stiles. Leah made a face, nodding a bit and shaking a finger at Stiles.

"That makes _no_ sense." Leah said, sitting back in her seat.

"That's the only thing I can think of." Stiles said with a shrug, "I mean, I don't know any other reason a wolf would change from a wolf to a girl. Especially a dead one." Leah was quiet, sitting back in her seat as Stiles got onto the main road. They were all quiet as Stiles drove.

When the Jeep pulled up in between Scott and Leah's house, Leah pushed out of the Jeep and met Scott at Stiles' window. "So we're going back out tomorrow?" Leah asked, looking to Stiles as Scott nodded, "And you're gonna tell your dad what? Just so I know what to tell Tara. And our stories match up."

"That we went out looking for Scott's inhaler that he dropped and found the hole."

"Which is our cover story for tomorrow." Leah added, "When did he drop his inhaler?" She asked.

"I'll let you know." Stiles said, bobbing his head, "Or you know, you could come up with that part of the plan." Stiles flung his hand at her. Leah widened her eyes at him.

"Oh, but I'm just a Barbie. I won't be able to come up with plans." Leah said, making her voice airy. Stiles gave her an unamused look. "Just make sure you pick me up tomorrow." Leah said, going back to her normal voice.

"Yeah, I'll pick you up at like noon." Stiles said, not sounding very happy about it.

"Just how I wanted to spend the afternoon before the game…re-digging up a body." Leah sighed and stepped back from the Jeep.

"Night, Leah." Scott softly said. Leah gave her best friend a small smile.

"Night, Scotty." She waved to him and turned away, walking up to her house.

She walked into her house to find her mom still passed out on the couch. Leah walked in the living room, over to the trunk that held various living room things, including blankets. She grabbed her mom's favorite one and spread it out over Tara.

Going to close the trunk, Leah noticed that one of the photo albums was leaning in a way that would only cause it to fall. Leah reached in and shifted some of the albums around so that everything was steady. There was a loose picture at the bottom of the trunk and Leah reached down to pick it up, ignoring the writing on it as she turned it over.

The picture was from one of Leah's birthday parties from when she was younger. Leah stared at it, her brows furrowing as she saw a few familiar faces. Leah brought the picture closer to her face before flipping the picture over to read the writing. There were names on the back: _Tara, Drew, Connor, Leah, Derek, Laura, Peter, Talia..._ the rest of the names began to fuzz together. Leah blinked hard, trying to get the words back in focus, except she kept going back to Laura's name. Laura, Laura Hale. The girl in the woods.

* * *

"Thanks for picking me up, man." Connor sat back in the passenger seat, sending his text before locking his phone, "I figured we should talk as soon as I got back to town."

"Yeah, well, we have a lot to talk about." Derek took in a breath, glancing over to Connor.

* * *

 **A/N: GUESS WHO'S BACK! CONNOR! A bae for sure. Ugh, mah heart. Okay. Let me know your thoughts! xx**


	8. Saturday Night Bites

Saturday afternoon, Leah found herself back in the Hale house, except this time her mom was with her. The boys and Leah had gone back out into the woods and dug the body back up earlier in the afternoon. Then Stiles and Leah called their respective parents, who brought the team out to the Hale property.

"Get off the couch, Leah." Tara waved her hand at Leah, "You shouldn't really be in here anyway." Leah rolled her eyes, but did as she was told, pushing to her feet. She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels.

"It's been awhile since I've been here…" Leah started, gauging her mom's reaction. Tara raised her eyebrows and nodded, giving her daughter a small smile

"Sure has." Tara agreed, Leah opened her mouth to continue the conversation, but was cut off by the sheriff's firm voice,

"Do you understand the rights that have been read to you?" Leah glanced over to see the sheriff standing in front of the door, Derek handcuffed in front of him. Derek's gaze flicked over to Leah as the sheriff tightened the handcuffs on Derek's wrists.

"Yes." Derek said, voice gruff, eyes still on Leah.

"Come on, sweetie." Tara put her arm around Leah. Leah looked away from Derek, feeling uncomfortable, "We're pretty much done in here." Leah nodded and walked with Tara out of the house and down the steps.

She watched as Derek was forced into the back of a patrol car. Her eyes flicked over to where Stiles' Jeep was parked, Scott leaning against the hood. Leah saw Stiles dart out from behind the Jeep and hurry over to the patrol car, trying to be smooth and sneaky. She snorted to herself as Stiles opened the front passenger door to the car and slipped inside.

"So what were you three doing out here again?" Tara asked Leah, getting Leah's attention again. Leah looked at her, scuffing the toe of her sneaker against the porch and making a face.

"Just exploring." Leah shrugged, "We weren't doing anything."

"If I ask you to pee in a cup, would you?"

"Mom!" Leah felt her jaw drop, "We weren't doing drugs!"

"Then what exactly were you doing out here?" Tara asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Leah made a face and blew out her cheeks before slumping down and letting out her breath.

"We were looking for Scott's inhaler." Leah said, shoving her hands under her armpits as she came up with a lie.

"Which he lost when?" Tara asked.

"The other night when we were out here." Leah rocked back on her heels as she continued her lie.

"The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body." Tara stated. Leah stopped talking as she realized she was getting caught up in her lie.

"No, another night, different night. It was some pre-season thing." Leah waved her hand around in the air, "Only Stiles and I were out here that night." Tara eyed Leah for a moment before nodding. She let her hand skate over the baby bump as she continued to nod.

"Are we done here?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow. Tara nodded again, letting Leah go. Leah started down the steps before stopping and turning around to look at her.

"You can I.D. the body now, can't you?" Leah asked, looking up at her mom.

"That's what they're gonna do for the rest of the afternoon." Tara put her hands on her hips, "Why?"

"I was just wondering." Leah made a face and shrugged, "Curiosity, ya know?"

"You know what they say about curiosity." Tara said with a small smile. Leah nodded and turned around.

"It killed the wolf." Leah whispered to herself as she walked back to Scott and the Jeep.

"So what's douchecanoe doing?" Leah asked as she meandered up to the Jeep. Leah leaned against the passenger door and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have no friggin' idea." Scott breathed out before running a hand through his hair. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Leah opened her mouth.

"Have you figured out how you're gonna play tonight?" She asked, glancing over to her best friend.

"No." Scott sighed, playing with the strings of his hoodie, "But I'm playing."

"Oh, I know." Leah said, raising her eyebrows and nodding. "Just wanna know how you're gonna deal when you shift."

"If." Scott corrected. Leah stared at him for a moment more before Scott sighed, " _When_." He corrected himself. Leah gave him a small smile as she shifted against the Jeep.

"Did you tell Connor about not making first line yet?" Scott asked, glancing at Leah.

"Nope." Leah let the 'p' pop. "And I don't plan on it. Cause I made first line, I'm just on probation." She continued, pointing a finger to Scott. "So while you're out there tonight, kicking ass, I'll be trying not to kill Stiles on the bench." Scott snorted.

"The sheriff might do it before you get the chance." Scott nodded to where the sheriff was forcefully pulling Stiles out of the patrol car.

"Awh, damnit." Leah made a face and stomped her foot as she watched the sheriff yell at Stiles. It brought her some sense of joy knowing that she had gotten out of it unscathed while Stiles was getting tied up in his lies.

"Let's go." Stiles threw his arm up in the air as he stomped over to Scott and Leah. "We've done enough." Leah pushed off the Jeep, smirking at Stiles as he stomped past her to driver's seat.

"When you say _we_ you mean _you_ though, right?" Leah asked as she climbed into the back of Jeep. Stiles started up the car and put the Jeep into drive.

"I'm not answering that, Barbie." Stiles glanced at Leah in the rearview mirror. Leah made an innocent face.

"I mean, I'm just saying cause I'm not the one who went into a patrol car to interrogate a murderer." Leah raised her shoulders up, "That was all you."

"Shut up." Stiles' face was unamused as he pulled out onto the road.

"At least I didn't—"

"Leah." Scott turned around in his seat to look at Leah, "Stop. We did what we had to do and that's it. It's done now. Derek's in custody." Scott nodded at Leah. Leah gave him a look before sighing in a agreement, and sitting back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest.

The Jeep was quiet for a few minutes as Stiles drove. Leah stared out the window, looking at the forest pass by. Stiles had the radio playing some crap while Scott tapped his fingers on his knee to the beat. She glanced between the boys before leaning forward in the space between them,

"So what exactly were you hoping to get out of Derek?" Leah asked, looking at Stiles' profile. Stiles huffed and shifted in his seat.

"I wanted to know what kind of werewolf the girl was." Stiles said, "I mean, she could transform into a full wolf and I know Scott can't do that." Stiles motioned to Scott.

"No, you don't." Leah pointed out, reminding Stiles they had never truly seen Scott shift before.

"Yeah, I do." Stiles argued back with her.

"No, you don't." Leah said again, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I—"

"Alright, shut it!" Scott cut Stiles off. Both of them looked at him, "What did he say?"

"Nothing. Completely unhelpful." Stiles flailed a bit.

"Well, did he say why he buried the body under wolfsbane?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows, "I mean, that's what my question is."

"I didn't get a chance to ask, _Leah_." Stiles made a face at Leah, "Why don't you just Google it?"

Leah let out an exasperated groan and fell back against the seat, but she complied, shoving a hand into her pocket for her phone. The boys continued to talk to each other about what Derek said as Leah tried to Google why a werewolf would bury another werewolf under wolfsbane.

After a few minutes, it was clear that Leah wasn't getting anywhere. There was nothing that Google had to offer her.

"I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial." Leah voiced her frustration as she exited out of Google.

"Just keep looking." Stiles' response came back.

"No. I already closed the page." Leah said, leaning forward. Stiles rolled his head back.

"Okay, maybe it's like a ritual or something, like maybe they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's like a special skill, you know? Like something you have to learn." Stiles rattled off options.

"I'll put it on my to-do list, right underneath figuring out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight." Scott mumbled, obviously a little annoyed.

"Maybe it's different for girl werewolves." Stiles absentmindly said.

"Okay! Stop it!" Scott shouted out, making Leah flinch a little.

"Stop what?" Stiles asked, glancing at him.

"Stop saying werewolves! Stop enjoying this so much." Scott was freaking out. Leah stared at her best friend, eyebrow arched.

"Are you okay?" She cautiously asked.

"No!" Scott shouted back immediately, "No, I'm not. I'm so far from being okay."

"You know, you're gonna have to accept this, Scott, sooner or later."

"Sooner being better than later." Leah added on, "Especially since the game is in like an hour."

"I can't-" Scott said back, taking in a deep breath.

"Well, you're gonna have to." Stiles said in a _too bad_ voice.

"No! I can't breathe." Scott frantically said, taking in a gulp of air. He started to move around the Jeep, trying to get out. Leah straightened up and watched him for a second becoming worried.

"Scott? Scott, what's happening?" She asked, reaching out to him.

"Aah! Ah, pull over!" Scott shouted, squeezing his eyes shut and groaning in pain.

"Why? What's happening?" Stiles asked, frantic. Scott spotted Stiles' backpack, which was resting in the dividing space. He reached in and pulled up the wolfsbane flower, eyes wide in disbelief.

"You kept it?!" Scott yelled out.

"What was I supposed to do with it?!" Stiles yelled right back.

Scott groaned and banged his head against the back of the seat. Then his hand went up to the ceiling of the Jeep. Leah jumped at the motion, keeping her wide eyes on Scott.

"Stop the car!" Scott suddenly growled out, eyes flashing gold.

That scared Stiles enough to stomp on the brakes. Leah braced herself as the Jeep pitched forward at the sudden stop. In a second, Stiles was out of the Jeep, backpack in his hands. Scott was out faster, leaving Leah alone in the backseat. She watched Stiles hurl his backpack into the woods and then looked to the other side to see where Scott had gone. She scrambled out of the Jeep as Stiles turned around to face the car.

"Okay…okay. We're good, you can—" Stiles was talking in a relieved tone as he looked at the Jeep, "Scott?" Stiles looked around the forest, "Scott?" He sang out. Then his eyes landed on Leah.

"Where'd he go?" Stiles asked. Leah lifted her shoulders and made a face. "Useless. How do you just lose a werewolf?" Stiles whispered under his breath.

"You forget to cherish it." Leah simply responded. She got a glare from Stiles to which she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not the one who kept a poisonous flower in my backpack." Leah shot back. Stiles made a face at her.

"Well, you let him out of the car!"

"He was out before I could even process what was happening!" Leah shouted, flinging her hand towards the forest. "Supernatural speed, remember?" Stiles grumbled to himself.

"I need to find my backpack."

"I need to find my best friend." Leah said back as Stiles headed into the woods.

"MY best friend!" Stiles shouted at her. Leah rolled her eyes, but followed Stiles into the forest.

"What compelled you to throw your entire backpack?" Leah asked, catching up to him and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, uh, just the fact that my best friend was choking in my Jeep." Stiles glanced at Leah, "Kinda more worried about that than my Chemistry homework."

"We had Chemistry homework?" Leah asked, brow furrowing.

"Uh, _yeah_." Stiles gave her a look, "Such a Barbie." He whispered. Leah flipped him off with an unamused look as he went back to looking for his backpack.

They looked for a few minutes, before Stiles found the backpack. He threw the flower out of the bag and zipped it back up, slinging it over his shoulder. The two of them headed back to the Jeep in silence, both of them scanning the woods for any sign of Scott. He really had disappeared, and Leah felt like that meant something bad was probably going to happen. Leah blew out a breath as they got to the Jeep; Stiles threw his backpack into the back hatch and then placed his hands on his hips.

"Let's find him before he hurts someone." Stiles flicked his hand at Leah.

"Or kills someone." She added. Stiles stared at her before walking to the front of the Jeep. Leah walked around the back of the Jeep, scanning the woods for Scott.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Leah asked as she got into the passenger seat, "This forest is huge we can't just drive around for the rest of the night. We have the game." Leah said as Stiles put the Jeep in drive.

"Yeah, I know." Stiles rubbed his hand over his mouth, "Okay, the station! We could call the station." He pointed at Leah.

"And say what?" Leah asked, rolling her head to look at him, "That my werewolf best friend went missing because an idiot kept something poisonous in his backpack and now the werewolf is on the loose and is probably gonna kill someone?" She asked.

"He's my best friend." Stiles grumbled.

"No, he's—"

"Can we please not, right now!?" Stiles cut Leah off, holding up a hand, "Do you have any better ideas?" He glanced at her and Leah sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

"No." She dejectedly said, "Fine, we'll call the station. Probably won't get very far though." Leah pulled out her phone and dialed dispatch, putting it on speaker so Stiles could talk while he drove.

" _Beacon Hills Sheriff Station, this is Sharon._ " Sharon's voice came over the speaker. Leah inwardly groaned; Sharon didn't like Leah very much and the feeling was mutual. Stiles glanced at Leah before readying himself to speak.

"Hey, Sharon, it's Stiles."

 _"Stiles._ " She sounded exasperated already, _"What do you need?"_

"We were just wondering if you had anything…odd come in." Stiles glanced at Leah. Leah rolled her eyes.

 _"We?"_ Sharon asked. Stiles cursed under his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Yeah, me and Leah." Sharon made a disapproving noise.

 _"You can't just call this line whenever you want. You two know that."_ Sharon was going into Mom mode. Leah pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sharon, please just pull the stick out of your ass for three seconds and give us an answer." Leah said, waving her hand in the air.

 _"Leah… don't start with me."_ Sharon said in a warning tone. Leah made a face at the phone before looking at Stiles, who was smirking to himself. She smacked his shoulder in response.

"Don't hit the driver." Stiles hissed out. Leah pointed to the phone with her free hand, trying to get him back on track. Stiles rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Have you gotten any odd calls today?" Stiles asked.

 _"Odd how?"_ Sharon asked. Stiles glanced at Leah before leaning closer to the phone, eyes back on the road.

"Uh, like an odd person or…a dog-like individual roaming the streets." Stiles moved his head around a bit and Leah heard Sharon sigh.

 _"I'm hanging up on you now."_ She said.

"No!" Stiles and Leah both shouted.

"Wai-wai-wai-wai-wait!" Stiles stuttered out, trying to get her to not hang up.

 _"Good bye!"_ Sharon trilled out before the line went dead.

"Bitch!" Leah gasped out as Stiles hit the steering wheel with his hand and let out a frustrated noise. Leah looked at Stiles, "Alright, genius, what now?"

"I have no idea." Stiles scrubbed his hand over his head, "But we have to be at school in like a half an hour, maybe less…"

"So we're just gonna leave him out there." Leah stated as Stiles turned down her neighborhood street. Stiles took in a breath.

"I don't know what else to do."

"It's your fault if he kills anyone." Leah said as Stiles pulled up to her house. Stiles glared at her.

"Get out." He seriously said.

"Fine." Leah said back, just as serious before shoving the door to the Jeep open. Leah hopped out and slammed the door shut with all her might.

"Hey!" Stiles shouted at her. Leah flipped him off before walking past the Jeep, down the street, towards Scott's house. Stiles pulled up next to her, slowly rolling along beside her.

"What are you doing?" He asked out the window.

"None of your business."

"Your house is that way, Barbie. In case you've forgotten." Stiles jerked his head back to Leah's house.

"I'm aware, thank you." Leah said as she crossed her arms over her chest and cut across the yard of the McCall's.

Stiles had to stay where he was, or at least the Jeep did. Leah got to the tree that separated the McCall's house from hers. It had been there since before she was born and she had climbed it countless times. Leah placed her foot in the proper spot and reached up to grab the knot in the tree.

"What are you doing?" Stiles' voice scared Leah. She jumped in surprise before glancing over to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing? You have eyes, Coleslaw, use them." Leah said back as she hoisted herself up.

" _Coleslaw?_ Really? I thought we had gotten rid of that nickname." Stiles groaned from below Leah.

"I think it's time to bring it back." Leah made a face as she looked back down at Stiles. Stiles made a face at her, which Leah ignored.

"God, wait, I'm coming." Leah looked down at him again as he placed his hands and feet where she had hers. "If you fall, I'll die." He called up to her, "Just remember that."

"Oh, so I should fall then?" Leah called back.

"No!"

"Yes?"

"Leah! Don't!" Leah grinned at him before resuming her climbing.

As much as falling on top of Stiles would be funny, it would hurt like hell and injure them both. And Leah didn't want to have another reason as to why she couldn't play in tonight's game.

Leah swung her leg over the branch in front of Scott's room and scooted across it. Stiles was right behind her, holding on for dear life. Leah laid down on her stomach and reached out to lift up Scott's window. Then she tumbled inside, landing on his bed. Stiles came in after her, banging into something or other.

"Why didn't we just use the door?" He asked, sitting up in the bed.

"They lock the front door." Leah said in a _duh_ voice. Stiles rolled his eyes as he rubbed his neck. Leah scanned the empty room, letting out a sigh.

"He's not here." She said, getting off of the bed.

"Yeah, I can see that." Leah glared at Stiles. Stiles got off the bed as Leah slowly spun around in the room, taking in all the nooks and crannies as if Scott was just hiding in the corner, waiting to be found.

"The sun's setting. If he's still in the woods, he—"

"He'll be fine." Stiles cut Leah off. Leah looked at him, "Werewolves are predators. If anything attacks him…he'll fight back." Stiles raised a hand before lowering it again, letting it rest on his hips. Leah nodded at him.

"There's nothing else we can do, huh?" Leah said, looking down at her shoes. She heard Stiles take a step forward toward her before stopping. Leah looked up at Stiles, seeing him standing in front of her, trying decide whether or not to comfort her or ignore her.

"I'll see you at the game." He settled on.

Leah nodded at him and watched him go out the window, climbing back down the tree. She blew out a breath and looked around the empty room. Scott wasn't there, and there was nowhere else she could think of him being. The woods were huge; Leah wouldn't be able to comb through it all, _and_ get to the game on time. So Leah climbed onto Scott's bed and went out the window, climbing through the tree to get to the branch that led to her window.

* * *

Connor opened the door to the sheriff's station and walked past the front desk, heading for his mother's desk where she was looking over some paperwork, "Mom." Connor pressed his fists down on top of the desk, getting Tara to look up at him.

"Uh, hi, honey. I didn't know you were coming home." Tara's brow furrowed, but she looked happy to see him.

"I wanted to surprise you, but turns out you surprised me." Connor leaned forward, "Arresting Derek? Really, Mom?"

"I do not want to talk about this right now." Tara seriously said, all signs of happiness fading, "This is not the time or place."

"Uh, we're in the police station, I think this is a great place to talk about how you arrested _Derek_!" Connor kept his voice quiet, but couldn't help but be upset.

"Connor." Tara snapped out, "We are not talking about this right now." She eyed him, daring him to say something else. Connor set his jaw and nodded, pushing off of the desk.

"Can I at least see him?" Connor asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Fine." Tara agreed, getting up from her seat. Connor stepped back and let his mom pass him, leading him down the hallway to the holding cells.

"Two minutes." Tara eyed Connor before looking to Derek. Derek nodded, stepping up to the bars as Connor did the same. Tara left the two of them alone and Connor raised his eyebrows, waiting for Derek to start talking.

"I buried Laura on my property and your sister and her dumbass friends decided to go digging around." Derek lowly explained.

"Why?" Connor asked.

"Because they don't want me interfering with Scott anymore." Connor took in a breath and looked down at his shoes before looking back at Derek, "This was all part of their plan. Get me thrown in jail so I wouldn't stop him from playing in tonight's game."

"Did you threaten him?" Connor asked, raising his eyebrows. Derek didn't respond, which was enough of a response in itself, "Oh my God, no wonder they did this." Connor let out a small laugh. He knew Derek wasn't very good with people or beta werewolves—mostly because he had been born into a pack.

"They think they can handle this, but they can't, Connor." Derek seriously said.

"I know!" Connor widened his eyes. He stared at Derek for a moment before opening his mouth and shaking his head a bit, "I'm going to the game tonight. I'll keep an eye on Scott. If anything happens…I'll fix it. I've done it before." Connor reminded Derek. Derek nodded, meeting Connor's eyes.

"Connor." Tara's voice got Connor to turn around and look at his mom. He nodded at her before looking back at Derek.

"We'll figure this out." Connor promised before stepping back from Derek. Derek nodded and stepped back, going back to the bench in the holding cell. Connor took in a breath and went back to his mom, letting her lead him out into the hallway.

* * *

The boys' locker room was full of half dressed lacrosse team members, shouting at each other and spraying each other with body spray as Leah stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind her, but none of the guys noticed since the music and talking were too loud. Leah wove through the guys, getting to Scott's locker. She hadn't heard anything from him since her and Stiles broke into his bedroom so she was still pretty worried. But when she got to his locker, all of her worries disappeared when she saw him sitting on the bench.

"Thank God." Leah breathed out, falling onto the bench next to him. Scott glanced at Leah with a small smile. Then Leah smacked his shoulder, "Don't do that ever again." Leah pointed at him. Scott nodded and then looked away.

"I'm sorry." He softly said, "I didn't know what to do. So I just ran."

"Where'd you even go?" Leah asked.

"To Allison's." Scott answered her truthfully. Leah raised her eyebrows and caught his eye. He looked away from her, embarrassed.

"What were you going to do?"

"All I knew was that I had to see her." Scott sat up a bit straighter, "I didn't even know I was there until I saw her in her bedroom."

"You were on her roof?!" Leah's eyebrows shot up, "Scott, that's like stalker, code red!" She hissed out.

"I know!" Scott turned to look at her, "I know." He rested his elbows on his knees, "And then she shut her curtains and I saw my reflection….and I was…." Scott paused before lowering his voice, "I was a wolf." Leah stayed quiet, "And it scared me so bad, that I went tumbling off the roof." Leah snorted.

"That's what you get for creepin." She nudged her best friend, making him laugh a bit, "But I'm glad you're okay."

"You gonna try to convince me not to play?" Scott asked, glancing at her. And then his eyes flicked up to over her shoulder. Leah looked over to see Stiles standing above them, gear in hand. He sighed and looked at her before sitting down on the bench next to Leah.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Stiles answered.

"If I don't play, I lose first line and Allison." Scott replied, looking away from the two of them.

"Allison's not going anywhere." Leah shook her head, "And if she does, then she wasn't really worth it."

"And it's one game that you really don't need to play." Stiles added on.

"I wanna play!" Scott protested, "I wanna be on the team. I wanna go out with Allison. I want a semi-freaking normal life. Do you get that?" His eyes flicked in between Leah and Stiles. Leah nodded and gave him a small smile.

"I get it." Stiles nodded back at Scott, "…Just try not to worry too much while you're out there, okay? Or get too angry." Stiles advised.

"I got it." Scott tapped his foot on the ground.

"Or stressed."

"I got it."

"Don't think about Allison being in the stands." Leah added on.

"Or that her father's trying to kill you." Stiles continued.

"Or that _Derek's_ trying to kill you."

"Or the girl he killed." Stiles sat up a bit.

"Or that _you_ might kill someone." Leah added.

"If a hunter doesn't kill you first—" Scott glared at his friends. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry." Leah mumbled, overlapping Stiles, "We'll stop." Coach blew the whistle, letting the team know they had to be out on the field.

"Good luck." Stiles sighed as he got to his feet. Leah followed suit, patting Scott's shoulder before they headed out of the locker room with the rest of the team.

The bleachers were already packed when Leah stepped on to the sidelines of the field with Scott and Stiles. People were cheering with signs and popcorn, talking amongst themselves. As Leah scanned the bleachers, Allison waved to her from the popcorn stand. Leah waved back, noticing she was with an older man, who was probably her dad. Leah spotted her mom and dad sitting next to Mrs. McCall and the sheriff. Tara gave her a thumbs up as Andrew winked at her.

"Scott!" Lydia trilled out as she came up to three of them.

She grabbed Scott by the front of his jersey, yanking him forward. Stiles' jaw dropped and a little noise came out of his mouth as he put his hand out in front of Leah. Stiles didn't realize how close she was and his hand came in contact with Leah's boob. Leah jumped a little, as did Stiles and his head flicked down to see where his hand was. Then he took it away so fast, Leah thought he was touching a red hot curling iron, not her boob. Leah raised her eyebrows at him as he shook out his hand.

"First boob touch?" Leah innocently asked. Stiles glared at her and walked off to the bench.

"Lele!" Leah heard a familiar voice from behind her. She spun around to see Connor jogging up to her. Leah felt her stomach drop but forced a smile on her face.

"Hey!" Leah grinned at him as he got closer. He wrapped his arms around his sister in a tight hug. "Uh, what are you doing here?!" Leah said, actually surprised. Connor lightly punched her shoulder.

"I told you I was coming home, idiot."

"No, ya didn't." Leah shook her head, "I would've remembered."

"Leah, I told you." Connor became serious, "I told you over the phone, asked you not to tell Mom and Dad. I told you I was coming to see you play." Connor went for his phone but Leah waved him away from it.

"Yeah, you're totally right. Of course you did." Leah lied, "Right, you came to see me…play." Leah bit her lip and rocked back on her heels, looking around the field.

"Mystic Falls, right? God, this is gonna be an easy win." Connor bobbed his head as he looked at the opposing team. "Especially since you and Scott are on first line." Leah let out a laugh.

"Right, yeah." Leah was lightly punched on the shoulder again. "I, uh, gotta go. Have to talk to Coach about some…things." Leah came up with an excuse, "But I'll talk to you after."

"Good luck!" Connor gave her a proud smile before stepping back. Leah gave him a thumbs up as she turned away.

The smile fell off of her face as soon as her back was to him. She had no recollection of Connor saying he was coming to the game, she didn't remember the conversation at all. Leah pulled her phone out of her warm up pocket and scrolled through her recent calls, landing on the exact conversation Connor was referring to.

Sighing, Leah shoved her phone back into her pocket and stomped over to her coach, who was talking to Jackson. "Coach, I need to talk to you. Right now." Leah said, getting his attention. Finstock looked over to her as Jackson got off the bench.

"Kane, I told you I'm not putting you on the field."

"You have to." Leah immediately shot back.

"Give me one good reason." Finstock made a face. Leah grabbed the top of his head and turned it so he was looking to the bleachers where Connor was sitting with her parents.

"That's why. Connor, aka one of your best players, is here. And he's expecting to see me play." Leah let go of Finstock's head, letting him face her again, "And what do you think he's gonna do when he sees me on the bench? You don't want to disappoint your _favorite player_." Leah crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Finstock. Finstock let out a huff and looked around the field.

"Fine. You get ten minutes on the field."

"A full quarter." Leah bargained. Coach narrowed his eyes at her and let out another breath.

"Whatever." He waved his hand at her, "Greenberg! You're on bench!" Leah smirked to herself before going over to the bench to drop off her stuff and get out of her warm up gear.

The referee blew the whistle a few minutes later, signaling that the teams should take their places. Leah jogged up next to Scott, who looked at her through his helmet.

"You ready?" Leah asked, pulling on her helmet. Scott blew out a breath, letting it puff out in the air.

"No." He answered her. Leah made a face at his honesty before she jogged over to the other side of the field to take her position. Leah crouched down as Jackson took the center position, she kept her attention on Jackson, ignoring how the kid in front of in whistled lowly.

"Didn't realize Beacon Hills was so desperate they let girls on their team." He taunted. Leah made a face at him, and didn't respond as the whistle blew. Instead, she used all her strength and shoved up against him, slamming him to the ground. He went down hard and she heard him groan.

"Welcome to the twenty first century, bitch." Leah said staring down at him. Leah gave him a charming smile before running off.

Kyle passed to Leah as she ran down the side of the field. Leah easily caught it but slowed down as she realized that she was surrounded. She spotted Scott standing off to the side, completely open. He was looking at her so Leah flicked her wrist and sent the ball flying right to him, but another one of the guys on the other team came out of nowhere and caught the ball, leaving Scott on the sidelines. Scott looked at Leah and she shrugged.

"Sorry!" Leah called out before taking off down the field.

The ball was knocked out of Harry's cradle as he tried to get around a defenseman, and the ball went rolling on the ground. Leah spotted it and then looked up to Scott, who was closer to her. They made eye contact for a split second before Scott took off running. Leah looked around to see Jackson going for it as well. In a moment, Jackson slammed against Scott, knocking him to the ground in order to scoop up the ball. Leah ran over to Scott as Jackson scored their first goal.

"That should be a penalty." Leah said as she helped Scott to his feet. Scott was silent as the crowd went wild for Jackson's goal. Their teammates were doling out high fives and fist bumps as the two of them stood off to the side a bit.

"We'll get the next one." Leah patted her best friend's shoulder as they walked back to reset. Leah looked around the crowd, her eyes being drawn to the sign Allison and Lydia were holding up that proclaimed their "luv" for Jackson.

"Ugh." Leah rolled her eyes, "She even pretends not to know how to spell." Leah grimaced as she glanced to Scott. His face had hardened and a little growl escaped from his mouth. Leah stared at him, realizing how heavy his breathing was.

"You good?" Leah asked. Scott nodded in response, not saying a word.

The starting whistle blew, forcing Leah to go to her position. She kept her eyes on Scott, watching him crouch down before she went jogging over to the opposite side of the field. This time, the other guy didn't say a word. Leah smirked to herself as the whistle blew. She took off down the field; Jackson had the ball and was running for the goal.

"Jackson!" Leah called out, "I'm open!" Leah looked ahead to see that there was a defenseman right in Jackson's path, "Jackson!" Leah yelled, trying to get him to pass to her. Jackson chose not to hear her and went around the guy, shooting the ball into the net for a goal. Leah felt her jaw click as she ran up to him.

"What the hell was that!?" Leah cried out as the crowd cheered. Jackson glanced at her, "I was open!"

"I made the shot." Jackson said, going to walk away.

"I could've made a better shot!" Leah went after him, "Hey, Jackson!" Leah shoved his good shoulder, trying to get his attention, "I'm your teammate, asshole!" Leah shoved him again, this time hard enough to make him stumble.

"Hey! Kane!" Finstock blew his whistle, "Kane! Off the field!" Leah jaw dropped as she spun around to look at her coach. Leah ripped off her helmet to get a better look at him.

"Are you fucking serious!?" Leah yelled back, "I didn't _do_ anything!"

"You hit a player on your team. Off the field!" Finstock was flailing as he tried to get her off the field.

"So did Jackson! He practically mauled Scott down!" Leah flung her hand out.

"Kane!" Finstock screeched, looking like a blood vessel was about to pop. Leah let out an audible groan and stomped her foot in frustration. She rolled her head back and went for the sidelines, completely livid.

"Awh, don't be such a cry baby." A team member of the other team cooed as Leah stomped by him. Leah went for him, but two of her teammates stopped her.

"Leah, stop." Harry grunted, trying to get her to calm down.

"Not worth it, Kane." Kyle added on. Leah stopped fighting them and relaxed, getting the boys to relax their grip. She shoved away from them and turned around.

"Knock his ass to the ground so hard he sees stars." Leah said through gritted teeth.

Kyle nodded at her before Leah whirled around, braid flying around her shoulder, and stomping off the field. Leah saw Allison and Lydia still holding up the sign—her eyes narrowed, trying to shoot arrows through the sign with her mind. Then she saw her family, Connor was booing, her mom and dad gave her sad smiles. Leah averted her eyes from them as she got to coach. He gave her a look as she passed him.

"Benched…for the rest of the game."

"Whatever." Leah grumbled, sitting down on the bench next to Stiles.

She was fuming; she hadn't done anything wrong. Leah didn't even push Jackson that hard, he was just a big baby. He didn't listen to the play, he was supposed to pass to Leah since he was blocked, but instead he tried to be the hero.

Stiles was smart and didn't say anything to Leah while the game continued on. They sat in silence as Mystic Falls came back, and even forged ahead into the last quarter of the game. There was a minute left and Beacon Hills needed three points to win.

"Does Scott seem a little…werewolfy to you?" Leah quietly asked Stiles as the teams reset. Scott was hunched over and she swore she could hear his pants from where they sat. Stiles, who had been chewing on his glove the entire game, tilted his head as he looked at Scott, took the glove out of his mouth to respond,

"What? No. He's fine. We're gonna be fine." Stiles' eyes were trained on the field.

"This is like a bad episode of _Friday Night Lights._ " Leah mumbled to herself, "Like _Saturday Night Bites."_ Leah looked back to see the player behind Scott take a cautious step back. Then the whistle blew.

The ball somehow got into the air and Leah watched as Scott took off; running for it and using another player to launch himself into the air and catch the ball. Stiles' glove dropped out of his mouth as did Leah's jaw. Leah leapt to her feet and ran down the sideline as soon as Scott took off running, weaving around the other players, dodging them as he ran full force down the field. Leah cheered him on as he went. He was getting closer to the goal and just at the right moment, he let the ball fly straight into the net.

"Yes!" Leah jumped up in the air, arms going up, "Yes! YES YES!" Scott looked at Leah and she could see the grin on his face. He jogged over to her and Leah cuffed his shoulders with her hands. Leah leaned forward, gently knocking his helmeted head against her forehead.

"You scored a goal!" Leah cheered in his face.

"I know!"

"Do it again!" Leah was grinning at her best friend, extremely proud of him.

"Okay!" Scott grinned back at Leah before running back to center field.

"Pass to McCall!" Finstock was yelling out as he came running down the sideline, "Pass to McCall!"

"Pass to McCall!" Stiles was following, a huge grin on his face. Leah looked to Stiles and they high fived without even realizing it. But immediately after, Leah dropped her hand and quickly walked past Stiles, back to the bench. Stiles sat down next to her, glove back in his mouth as the whistle blew.

Leah watched as someone on the other team got the ball and tried to go for their goal, only to see Scott standing in front of him. Leah didn't know what Scott did, but the kid passed the ball straight to Scott.

"Did the opposing team just deliberately pass us the ball?" Finstock asked, coming up to them.

"Yes, I believe so, Coach." Stiles answered through a mouthful of glove.

"Interesting." Finstock murmured to himself as Leah kept her eyes trained on the way Scott was moving.

He moved quick enough to get back down the field. And then he flicked his wrist, sending the ball straight through the goalie's cradle and into the net. Leah jumped to her feet, cheering for her best friend as the whistle blew. Leah got up with her coach, going over to the sidelines to cheer for Scott as the referee came over.

"Doesn't count." The referee said to Finstock.

"What do you mean it doesn't count?" Finstock asked back.

"The ball's in the net!" Leah shouted, throwing her hand towards where the ball was in fact in the net. Stiles repeated after her.

"That's the goal of the game, is get the ball in the net!" Finstock said, making the referee shake his head and sigh, giving up, "We got it." Coach laughed, blowing his own whistle.

With thirty seconds left, the ball was passed to Scott, who went for the goal. Stiles and Leah were back on the bench, watching Scott. The opposing team fanned out, getting as far away from him as possible. Scott was almost stalking down the field, acting like the other team was his prey.

"Oh this is not good." Leah murmured, slowly getting to her feet.

"No, Scott, no no." Stiles voiced his agreement. Leah chewed down on the end of her braid as she watched Scott's head flick around, taking in the other team.

"Scott, don't." Leah said, mainly to herself.

And at the last possible second, with two guys running at Scott, Scott hurled the ball into the goal, giving Beacon Hills the win. Leah threw her arms up in the air as the crowd went wild.

"Yes! Oh my God." Leah let out a relieved laugh as she looked to Stiles.

"Thank God." Stiles said, taking a step forward and hugging Leah. Leah froze in his arms at the same time he realized what he was doing. They both jumped apart and stared at each other.

"No."

"Never happened." Stiles said, making a face.

"What happened?" Leah asked, furrowing her brow.

"Exactly." Stiles pointed at her.

"Congratulations!" Connor said as he jumped off of the bleachers, practically tackling her, "If Coach hadn't taken you out for that bullshit reason, you coulda scored the winning goal though." Leah laughed as she swayed under Connor.

"But I'm glad it was Scott." Leah grinned at her brother.

"Yeah, where is the rascal? Wanted to congratulate him." Connor let go of Leah and looked around the field, searching for Scott. He had seen him during the last moments of the game, knowing exactly what was happening. He wanted to make sure Scott was okay-if he wasn't, Connor knew how to calm him down.

Leah looked to the bleachers to see Tara and the sheriff standing next to each other, the sheriff on his phone, "Uh, I don't know." Leah distractedly said, "Hold on." Leah looked back at Connor to see that he had been cornered by Finstock.

"Mom?" Leah asked, "What's wrong?" Tara held up a finger to her. Leah glanced at Stiles, who met her gaze with a concerned look.

"They confirmed the killer to be an animal." Leah heard the sheriff say to Tara as he ended the phone call, "Derek Hale was let out of custody earlier this evening."

"Did they I.D. the body?" Tara asked back. Leah pretended she wasn't listening, pulling off of her pads and putting on her warm up gear.

"Laura Hale." The sheriff replied, "Derek's sister." Leah felt her stomach drop when she heard what the sheriff said. Even though she knew who it was already, Leah still felt surprised; she wanted it to be someone else, wanted herself to be wrong.

"Honey…" Tara started as she came off the bleachers. "Honey, we have to talk." She put her hand on Leah's shoulder. Leah shrugged it off, not looking at her mom.

"I have to go find Scott." Leah quietly said, before picking up her duffle and walking onto the field, towards the locker room.

"I'll, uh, go with her." Leah heard Stiles say. She slowed down a bit to let him catch up.

"I knew it." Leah whispered out.

"How in holy hell did you know that it was Laura Hale?" Stiles asked, rolling his head back. Leah dug into her pocket for her phone, pulling up a photo of the picture from the birthday party. Leah zoomed in on Laura's face, handing it over to Stiles.

"She looks like the girl we found."

"Why was she at your birthday party? Why am I cut out?" Stiles asked, shoving his finger against the screen.

"Because apparently, Connor and Derek grew up together, we were all one big happy, friendly family." Leah explained, taking her phone back from Stiles, "I thought I told you that." She said, glancing at him.

"Uh, no! You didn't!" Stiles' jaw was dropped as they walked to the locker room.

"Well, it doesn't really matter now, since she's…dead." Leah quickly raised her eyebrows as she opened the door to the school. They walked at a faster pace than usual, trying to get down the locker room quicker.

"Her brother murdered her." Stiles breathed out.

"No, an animal did." Leah corrected him, "Didn't you hear your dad?"

"But Derek _is_ an animal." Stiles rolled forward on his feet. Leah pulled her lips in and looked around the dark hallway as they walked.

"And if Derek's out of jail, that means he's gonna come for Scott." Stiles continued.

"I know. I know." Leah said in a hushed tone. Stiles opened the door to the locker room and the two of them hurried inside. Stiles was ahead of her and got out into the opening first.

"Oh God." Leah heard him mumble and he turned around, pushing Leah back.

"What?" Leah mouthed out. Stiles shook his head, not responding as he made a face of disgust.

Leah rolled her eyes and shoved by him, peering around the lockers to see Scott and Allison in full make out mode. Leah felt her jaw drop and she put her hand over her mouth to contain her squeal as she whirled back around to face Stiles. He crouched down to look around the lockers again, and Leah stood on her tiptoes to watch as well. She couldn't stop smiling as she watched Scott kiss Allison and Allison kiss Scott back.

Then Allison laughed a little, both of them pulling back. She was grinning, Scott was grinning, Leah was grinning.

"I, uh, I gotta get back to my dad." Allison whispered, stepping away from Scott. Scott nodded as Allison kissed him again. She turned away from him and walked out of the shower area. Leah yanked Stiles back, not wanting her to see them, but it was too late.

"Hey Stiles. Hey, Leah." Allison said in a friendly voice. Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah and reached out to grab Leah's hand, pulling her out from behind the lockers. Leah made a face and looked over her shoulder at Stiles as Allison pulled her out of the locker room.

"Uh…hey." Leah made a face as she and Allison got into the hallway.

"Oh my God!" Allison whisper shouted, a grin on her face, "I kissed him!"

"I saw." Leah nodded, hands on her hips.

"And he kissed me!" Allison continued, the grin still on her face,

"Saw that too." Leah nodded again, smirking a little.

Allison opened her mouth and let out a little laugh before putting her hands over her mouth. Leah couldn't help but amusedly roll her eyes at Allison's reaction.

"I can't believe I just did that." Allison whispered out, chewing on her thumbnail.

"Well, ya did!" Leah pulled her shoulders up and made a face.

Allison pushed off of the wall and started walking down the hall, indicating that Leah should follow her outside. "I just went in there and did it!"

"That's great!" Leah matched Allison's tone, "And right after his big game, Ally, you are a walking cliché."

"Shut up." Allison laughed. Leah grinned at her.

"Who knows what else you would've done if you didn't have to get back to your dad." Leah teased, getting an elbow from Allison. Allison rolled her eyes and let her head drop into her hands, covering her face.

"Allison!" A voice made Allison pick up her head and Leah turned to the voice. The man Leah had seen Allison with was walking up to them. "Did you congratulate Scott?" He asked with a warm smile.

"Yeah, he was in the locker room." Allison thumbed behind herself as Leah ducked her head, trying to stop herself from saying anything stupid.

"Good." The man paused, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Leah Kane!" Allison put a hand on Leah's shoulder, getting Leah to look up at the man, "Leah, this is my dad." Allison motioned to the man in front of them.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Leah reached out to shake Mr. Argent's hand. He gave her the same warm smile that he had given Allison.

"Kane. Are you Tara's daughter?" Mr. Argent asked.

"Uh, yeah." Leah made a face, "How…"

"I own a firearms company, and the police are one of our clients." Mr. Argent explained.

"Firearms, of course." Leah made a face, nodding at Mr. Argent. "Cool." She managed, moving her body a bit. Mr. Argent looked amused at Leah's reaction and nodded.

"I can see the family resemblance." Mr. Argent motioned to Leah.

"Oh, well, I look more like my dad, obviously." Leah joked, looking to Allison, "Cause my mom is bl..." Allison raised her eyebrows, silently trying to get Leah to stop from saying anything else embarrassing. Leah made a face and looked back to Mr. Argent, "Uh, never mind."

Mr. Argent laughed, "You have her sense of humor."

"Cool." Leah managed out again, bobbing her head. There was a pause and Leah wanted to get out of the current situation she was in very badly, "Okay!" She sighed out, "Well, I'm gonna go get my stuff. Uhm, it was nice meeting you Mr. Argent." Leah gave Mr. Argent a tight smile, "I'll see you later, Allison."

"Yeah, text me." Allison reached out to Leah, nodding as Leah took a step back.

Leah turned and quickly walked away from the Argents, cursing herself under her breath. She was never, ever good with new people, especially adults, and most times her filter never worked and she just said the first thing that came to mind. And in this case, it made her feel like she needed to shed her skin and start over.

Pulling open the school door, Leah hurried down the hallway and went into the locker room to find Scott and Stiles exactly where she had left them. They were both quiet, looking up at Leah's entrance.

"Just had a very awkward conversation with a werewolf hunter. Allison's dad. Allison's dad, the werewolf hunter." Leah blurted out, leaning on one of the lockers as she tried to play it off, "Uh, yeah it was the worst." She admitted.

"What happened? Did you say something stupid?" Stiles asked, facing Leah.

"Uh, depends on your definition of stupid." Leah made a face, "If you're asking if I blurted out Scott's secret, then _no_ , but if you're asking if I embarrassed myself, then...yes." Leah raised her eyebrows, nodding.

"Oh, well, that's normal." Stiles made a face, "We're well aware that you continually embarrass yourself."

"Okay, rude." Leah flipped him off, "Did you tell him about Laura?" She asked, looking to Scott.

"Yeah." Stiles sighed, looking over his shoulder at Scott.

"So…what now?" Leah asked looking between the boys.

* * *

 **A/N: Woo! Finally finished episode two lmao. AnYWAY! Let me know your thoughts! xoxo**


	9. A Dream Isn't a Wish Your Heart Makes

Monday morning, Leah came down to see that her brother was in the kitchen, humming along to whatever was on the radio. Leah reached down and picked up Webster, scratching him behind the ears as she walked into the kitchen. Connor was behind the island, pouring batter into a waffle maker. Leah hopped up on a stool and placed Webster on the island as Connor looked up and closed the waffle maker.

"Get that rodent off of the counter." He pointed at Webster with the spatula.

"Oh my god, shut up." Leah said, rolling her eyes, "He's not doing anything."

"He's gonna get cat hair in the waffles." Connor protested.

"I'll eat that waffle then." Leah said, making her eyes wide as she rested her chin in her hands. Connor gave his younger sister a look, making Leah sigh and pick up Webster. She gently put him down on the ground where he scampered away, letting Leah turn back to Connor.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Leah asked as Connor slid a waffle in front of her.

"Uh, they left early this morning. I hadn't even gotten back from my run yet." His brow furrowed as he sipped his coffee, "Something must've happened." Leah shrugged in response, not really caring since it hadn't reached the news yet, so it must not have been that bad.

Leah finished her waffle a few minutes later and placed her dishes in the dishwasher. She changed the radio station, getting a dirty look from Connor. Leah made a face a shrugged as she walked around the island.

"Hey, do you want a ride to school today?" Connor asked as Leah pushed her stool in, "I picked up my car from the garage yesterday and I have some things to take care of so it's on the way." Leah paused for a moment before nodding,

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Leah said with a shrug. "I'll be ready in five."

"Sounds good." Connor nodded at Leah. Leah spun around to go back upstairs and get changed.

She pulled on a pair of her jeans and distressed crop top sweater. Leah slipped on a leather jacket and grabbed a pair of high tops. Making sure to grab her phone and backpack, Leah exited her bedroom and went back down the stairs. She went to the back porch to grab her lacrosse duffel and her skateboard before turning to Connor.

"Ready." She said as she slipped her duffel bag over her shoulder. Connor nodded at his sister and grabbed his keys, following Leah out of the kitchen and to the front door. Leah glanced down at the McCall house to see that Scott's bike was gone, which meant he had already gone off to school.

Connor drove as fast as their grandmother, which wasn't very fast at all. Leah rolled her head to the side to look at him as he tapped his hands against the steering wheel.

"Con, I could skate faster than you're driving." Leah said in a monotone. Connor laughed a little, but never took his eyes off the road.

"Sorry, Lele. You took the offer."

"You offered." Leah grumbled, "I forgot how slow you drive. By the time I make it to school, it'll be lunch." Connor snorted and shook his head.

"How is the old alma mater?" Connor asked. Leah gave him a look before shaking her head.

"It's fine. Harris is still an asshole, the VP and I are tight and that's about it." Leah glanced over at her brother, "Nothing's really changed since you asked me about it last time."

"Yeah, but I like hearing about it." Connor said with a shrug as he pulled into the school parking lot. Leah rolled her eyes as Connor pulled up to the curb. As Leah got her things from the back of Connor's car, she saw Scott waiting by the bike rack, looking anxious.

"Well, thanks. See ya." Leah said as she slammed the passenger side door. Connor gave her a two finger wave before glancing over at Scott. He nodded at him before driving away from the two of them.

"Oh thank God." Scott breathed out as Leah stepped up to him.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Leah said, searching his face, "Are you okay?"

"No, no I'm so far from being okay." Scott rolled his head back.

"Well, what happened? Did something happen with Derek? Or Allison?" Leah reached out to touch his arm.

"Got here as fast as I could." Stiles' said, making Leah jump a bit. Leah glanced over to see his chest heaving and falling as if he had just run to school rather than driven his Jeep.

"What happened?!" Leah cried out, stomping by foot.

"I had a dream!" Scott shouted back. Leah pulled back, eyes wide as she looked at him.

" _A dream_?" Leah asked, sounding doubtful as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You had a dream and that's what you're freaking out about?"

"Depends on what the dream was about." Stiles said, pointing a finger gun at Leah, "Cause it could be good freaking out or bad freaking out." Leah made a face at him and pushed his finger away from her personal space.

"It was bad." Scott breathed out, "Very bad."

"Well, stop stalling and tell us!" Leah waved her hands around in the air.

"Maybe if you shut up for five seconds—" Stiles started.

"Maybe if you weren't such a dick—" Leah shot back.

"Guys!" Scott cried out, "Just listen!" Stiles and Leah both shut up and looked to Scott. Scott huffed and looked around the school grounds before launching into his story.

"So we were at some school dance, and I took her outside to the bus lot. And we went onto one of the buses—"

"Oh God, please tell me this isn't a sex dream." Leah made a face, "As much as I love you, I don't need to hear about your sex dreams."

"Awh, is someone jealous?" Stiles asked as they walked to the front steps. Leah shoved him, making him trip over himself.

"Fuck no." Leah raised her eyebrows

"Anyway we were making out on the bus," Scott continued, "and then I started to shift. She tried to get away, but I went after her, grabbing her ankle and dragging her to the back of the bus. I mean, she kicked me—"

"Good for her. Defending herself even in the dream." Leah made a face, proud of dream Allison.

"Seriously, shut up!" Stiles flailed about.

"Okay, sorry, just adding my own commentary." Leah put her hands up in the air.

"Some of us are trying to analyze his dream." Stiles said. Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"She managed to get to the doors of the bus and was trying to get them open as I went after her. And she was all bloody and then I grabbed her and she screamed." Scott ended as he opened the door to the school. Leah walked in after Scott, not holding the door for Stiles.

"So you killed her." Stiles simply said as he got hit in the back with the door.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged, "I just woke up. And I was sweating like crazy, and I couldn't breathe. I've never had a dream where I woke up like that before." The three of them were walking down the hall, Scott in the middle of Leah and Stiles.

"Really? I have." Stiles made a face. "Usually ends a little differently." Stiles looked down at Leah. Leah noticed, doing a double take before making a disgusted face as Stiles looked away from her.

"You're disgusting." Leah said.

"A, I meant I've never had a dream that felt that real." Scott cut Stiles off, "And B, never give me that much detail about you in bed again. Either of you." Scott pointed from Stiles to Leah and then back.

"Noted." Stiles and Leah both mumbled at the same time.

"Let me take a guess here." Stiles continued.

"Oh, here we go." Leah muttered.

"No, I know," Scott started before Stiles could, "you think it has something to do with me going out with Allison tomorrow, like I'm gonna lose control and rip her throat out." Scott said.

"No, of course not." Stiles quickly said. Leah cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's totally it." Scott slumped down and groaned, "Hey, come on, it's gonna be fine, all right? Personally, I think you're handling this pretty freakin' amazingly."

"Scott, seriously, you're doing fine. I mean, better than fine. If it was either one of us, we'd be sinking." Leah paused, "Well, I mean, I wouldn't. Stiles would be." Stiles gaped at her. She gave him a charming smile to his glare.

"And you know, it's not like there's a lycanthropy for beginners class you can take." Stiles pointed out.

"Yeah, not a class, but maybe a teacher." Scott gave Stiles a pointed look.

"Who, Derek?" Scott shrugged. Stiles and Leah both stopped walking to smack Scott upside the head, "You forgetting the part where we got him tossed in jail?"

"And plus he murdered his sister. And is a total creep." Leah added on

"Yet, I feel like you have a thing for him." Stiles made a face. Leah gave him a look, "What is it with Barbies and bad boys."

"Awh, you're just jealous. Maybe if you weren't such a—" Scott put his hand over Leah's mouth to get her to stop so he could continue his story,

"But chasing her, dragging her to the back of the bus, it felt so real." Leah licked Scott's palm, getting him to drop it as they got to the end of the hall.

"How real?" Stiles asked.

"Like it actually happened." Scott said as they pushed through the double doors.

They came face to face with the bus lot, which was crowded with police and crime scene investigators. The bus had been completely ripped apart, the back door hanging off with claw marks and blood. A seat was ripped off, blood was staining the ceiling and windows.

"I think it did." Stiles whispered.

Leah glanced away from the scene to look at Scott. He was beginning to freak out. He whirled around and hurried back into school, leaving Stiles and Leah outside. The two shared a look before going after Scott.

"She's probably fine." Stiles called out to Scott as he walked through the crowding halls.

"Maybe she overslept." Leah shrugged as they tried to catch up with Scott.

"She's not answering my texts, guys." Scott groaned.

"It could just be a coincidence, all right?" Stiles flailed a bit.

"A seriously amazing coincidence." Leah muttered, giving Stiles the side eye.

"Just help me find her, okay?" Scott glanced at the two of them. Leah searched the people littering the halls, none of them looking like Allison. She peered down hallways and into classrooms as Scott continued to freak out.

"Do you see her?" Leah asked Stiles.

"No." He answered as Scott whirled around and went to a locker, slamming into it and punching it with his werewolf strength.

Leah flinched and stopped walking. Scott was breathing heavily and he stepped back, looking like he was about to cry. Leah opened her mouth to warn him that he was going to run into someone, but it was too late. Scott knocked into Allison, making him spin around as she laughed at him. Leah let out a sigh of relief and glanced at Stiles, the two of them watching Allison and Scott before the speaker clicked on.

"Attention, students, this is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled." Leah let out a sigh as a groan rippled through the crowd.

"She just ruffled his hair." Stiles said. Leah felt her brow furrow as she looked over to the couple. Allison was walking by Scott and towards the two of them..

"Leah." Allison grinned at Leah and she turned away from Stiles.

"Allison." Leah linked her arm through Allison's as they walked to their homerooms. "Did you ruffle Scott's hair?" She asked, brow furrowing. Allison laughed.

"Yeah, was that totally not cool?" She asked, nose scrunching up a bit.

"It was kinda Mom-ing him." Leah responded, scrunching up her nose as well. Allison groaned.

"I didn't mean to! It just felt natural." Leah laughed at Allison before she slipped into her homeroom.

Leah went through her morning classes with ease. Everyone was talking about what happened in the bus lot. The police were still out there, looking for the victim as classes went on. The teachers tried to direct the lessons away from the attack, but it wasn't working. Leah knew Scott had done something, but because there was nothing to go from it, no news reports about it, Leah was kinda stuck making up her own theories.

Scott and Stiles were still talking about it during Chemistry. Leah was sitting at the same lab table as Stiles, just across from him. Scott was at the table in front of them, but he was turned around on the stool, in order to talk to them.

"Maybe it was my blood on the door." Scott whispered, tapping his pen against his knee.

"Could have been animal blood." Stiles shrugged, "You know, maybe you caught a rabbit or something."

"And did what?" Scott asked.

"Ate it." Stiles stated. Leah made a disgusted face and continued to doodle on her notebook.

"Raw?" Scott sounded grossed out.

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven. I don't know, you're the one who can't remember anything." Stiles motioned to Scott, "You're just as bad as Barbie."

"Hey—!" Leah started, looking up at Stiles.

"Mr. Stilinski!" Harris got their attention, "If that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while." Leah made a face at him.

"I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?"

"No." Stiles protested the rhetorical question. Harris gave him a look and then motioned for them to switch. Stiles groaned and hopped off his stool.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much." Stiles let out a dry laugh as he came around to the empty stool next to Leah. She gave him a look as he sat down next to her.

"Did you shower today?" She asked.

"What? You don't enjoy my natural odor?" Stiles asked back. Leah gagged and went back to doodling in her notes.

"It couldn't have been a rabbit." She offhandedly said.

"Yeah, I know."

"A rabbit couldn't have produced that much blood." Leah said as she drew the phases of the moon in her notebook. "Unless he sprayed it around, axe murderer style..."

"You're sick. Do you know that?" Stiles sounded disgusted, "God, do you lay awake at night and just think about these things?"

"Oh yeah, you know me and my love for blood and killing." Leah made a face, "Really helps me get going when I flick the bean." Stiles stared at her.

"I hate you." He whispered out.

"I think they found something!" One of the girls said from up front.

All of them jumped off of their stools and went over to the window. Scott, Stiles and Leah were towards the back, but were still able to watch Leah's dad roll out a guy on a gurney. He was ripped and battered and bloody. Leah leaned forward a bit just as the guy decided to jump up. Leah let out a startled scream as Stiles' arm went out in front of her. She clapped her hand over her mouth and looked around the room as Stiles and Scott took a couple steps back. Scott reached out and tugged her with him.

"Okay. This is good, this is good." Stiles was saying as Leah tried to calm herself down, "He got up, he's not dead. Dead guys can't do that." He was babbling.

"Stiles…I did that." Scott said as the bell rang. Leah rubbed her hand over her mouth before putting her hands on her hips.

"But he's not dead. So you didn't kill anyone." Leah shrugged, making a face, "So that's a win." Scott stared at me. Leah slumped down and let out a sigh. "Sorry."

"We can talk more at lunch, yeah?" Stiles asked, "Yeah, let's go get some lunch." He patted Scott's shoulder and walked back to the lab table. Leah reached out and rubbed Scott's arm before going over to grab her backpack.

The hallways were crowded with students trying to get to their next class. Leah walked with Stiles and Scott before Allison caught her eye and waved her over to the lockers.

"Uh, save me a seat." Leah said, with a nod to Scott. Scott looked like he barely registered what Leah said. Leah screwed her mouth to the side as she stepped back from the boys, going over to Allison.

"Are you coming to lunch?" Allison asked. Leah looked over her shoulder to where the boys were going up the stairs and then looked back to Allison.

"Uh, yeah…why wouldn't I be?" Allison shrugged.

"I don't know. I was just gonna sit with you guys today." Allison shut her locker door, "And I invited Lydia and Jackson to come too." Allison gave Leah a bright grin.

"Fantastic." Leah softly said, lifting her chin up in the air and giving her an exaggerated smile as they started to walk to the cafeteria, " _Yaaaay_!"

"It'll be good. Merging you guys all together."

"Super fun." Leah dryly said. Allison stopped walking and grabbed her arm.

"Did I totally screw up?" Allison asked, "I mean, I know you don't like Lydia or Jackson, but they're my friends too and I want—"

"Allison, shut up." Leah put her hand up to cut the girl off, "It's fine. I'll deal with it. We can be civil." Leah nodded at Allison, seeing Allison relax.

"Okay, good." She started walking again, "Cause I really think you and Lydia would be good friends if you could just bury the hatchet."

"It's a pretty massive hatchet." Leah responded, blowing out a breath. Allison gave her a small smile before looking forward again.

"So Scott and I were planning on going out tomorrow…" Allison started, glancing at Leah, "And I was wondering if you knew anywhere that he liked to go." She finished. Leah blew out a breath and tipped her head back.

"Let's see…" Leah thought about Allison's question for a moment, "He'd really be up for anything." She shrugged, "Nothing too specific that he would absolutely say no to." Allison groaned a bit.

"What?!" Leah shouted out, raising her hands, "You asked for my opinion."

"I thought you were going to be more specific." Allison laughed out, "No, it's fine. We'll think of something."

"Oh, please don't become one of those we couples." Leah said, scrunching up her nose as they got to the cafeteria. Allison's brow furrowed, " _We_ like to go to the park. _We_ don't like coffee. _We_ –"

"Okay, okay." Allison laughed, "I get it." She made her eyes wide and shook her head around.

"If you become one of those couples, I'll shoot you." Leah seriously said.

"I'll hand you the gun." Allison laughed as she opened the door to the cafeteria. Leah tried not to smile, but ended up laughing to herself and rolling her eyes.

"Hey, Allison." Lydia bounced up next to Allison and gave Leah a look, "Leah." She forced a tight smile on her face.

"Lydia." Leah returned the smile, "Hey, uh, I know you're in AP Lit and Comp, so, uh, shouldn't that teach you how to spell _love_?" Leah asked, referring back to the poster she held at the game, "Or am I missing something?" Lydia narrowed her eyes at Leah and Leah could see that she wanted to snap back at her but instead Lydia tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned to Allison.

Leah rolled her eyes and made a disgusted face, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned to the lunch line. She eavesdropped on Allison's conversation with Lydia for a moment, hearing that Allison was telling Lydia about her up and coming date with Scott.

"They're over there." Leah said as the girls stepped out of line. Leah lifted her tray towards where the boys were sitting. Lydia stepped in front of them and sauntered over to their table. Leah rolled her eyes and rocked back on her heels as Allison walked in front of her.

"For Allison." Leah whispered to herself before walking after Allison.

When she got to the table, the only seat left was one next to Stiles. Stiles saw Leah and scrambled to get his backpack, but Leah was faster. She slammed her tray down and then grabbed the chair, pulling it out and sitting down.

"Can't get rid of me that easy." Leah said, scooting forward as Stiles rolled his eyes.

Leah glanced to Lydia, seeing that she was sitting next to Scott and had Jackson on her other side, then it was Danny, then Stiles, then herself. Allison gave her a grin from across the table and Leah raised her eyebrows in response.

"So I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack." Danny said, starting the conversation up, "Probably a cougar." He leaned forward to talk to the whole table.

"I heard mountain lion." Jackson chimed in. Leah saw Lydia's head flick to the side.

"A cougar is a mountain lion." She snapped out. Leah raised her eyebrows, impressed that Lydia was finally showing off her intelligence. But as soon as Jackson cocked a brow, Leah saw Lydia's brow furrow.

"Isn't it?" She dumbly asked, backtracking. Leah rolled her eyes in response.

"Who cares?" Jackson asked back, "The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

"Actually, I just found out who it is." Stiles said, sliding forward, phone in his hand. While the rest of the table was debating, Stiles was doing research. Leah glanced at him, mildly impressed,

"Check it out." Stiles pressed play on his phone and Leah leaned over so she could see the video playing. Her mom and the sheriff were onscreen, walking around the bus as a news anchor talked.

"The sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack." The voice over said as the clip switched to a picture of the victim, "Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition." The video stopped and Stiles pulled his arm back. Leah realized how close she was to him, almost on top of him, and quickly pulled back.

"I know that guy." Scott said, pointing to Stiles' phone.

"You do?"

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad." Leah took in a breath at the memory of Scott living with his dad. Even though it had only been for a few months, it was still horrible. Scott only came over on weekends and she barely saw him at school.

"He was the driver." Scott mumbled the last part. Leah stared at her best friend, catching his gaze and raising an eyebrow. He gave her a small smile.

"Can we talk about something slightly _more fun_ , please?" Lydia asked, stabbing her salad, "Like, oh, where are we going tomorrow night?" Allison almost choked on her water. Leah bit down into her apple as Allison raised her eyebrows, not knowing what was going on.

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?" Lydia asked, staring at Allison.

"Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do." Leah glared at Allison, but she didn't catch it; she was too busy looking to Scott.

"Well, I am _not_ sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us _are_ hanging out, we are doing something fun." Lydia simply said, stabbing at her salad again. Leah felt her stomach drop at the phrase, _hanging out_.

"Hanging out? Like, the four of us? Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?" Scott asked, beginning to freak out.

"Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun." Allison shrugged, not really understanding what was wrong with the situation.

"You know what else sounds fun? Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." Jackson picked up the fork and mimed stabbing himself in the face. Lydia grabbed it out of his hand and sighed.

"How 'bout bowling? You love to bowl." Lydia said to Jackson. Leah furiously chomped down on her apple, watching Scott's grave be dug by Lydia and Jackson and a clueless Allison.

"Yeah, with _actual_ competition." Jackson snorted.

"Well, then you'll have to go on a date with me, Ally." Leah chimed in, looking to Allison with a shrug. Allison laughed.

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison raised her eyebrows as she leaned forward, "You can bowl, right?" She nudged Scott.

"Sort of." Scott muttered. Leah wanted to chuck her apple at Scott; he hadn't bowled since her ninth birthday. And he sucked even then.

"Is it sort of, or yes?" Jackson asked, moving his lunch aside to lean forward. Scott looked at Jackson and leveled his gaze with him.

"Yes. In fact, I'm a _great_ bowler." Scott said.

A piece of Leah's apple got caught in the back of her throat as she took in a quick breath at Scott's lie. She let out a cough, getting Scott's attention. He looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. Leah covered her mouth, turning to the side as she continued to cough. Then the apple piece flew up and hit Stiles in the face, making him flinch as Leah took in a deep, rough breath.

"You couldn't just die!?" Stiles freaked out, "You had to spit it out on me!?" Leah heard Allison laughing as Leah wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Next time I'm choking, I'll just remind myself not to go near you and then I'll die." Leah said, giving him a look.

"That'd be great, thanks." Stiles made a face at her and Leah rolled her eyes in response. Leah looked to Allison, who was grinning at them before she perked up.

"Oh my God! You and Stiles should come too!" She flicked her hand back and forth between Stiles and Leah. Stiles had chosen that moment to take a swig of his water and promptly let it spray out on Leah. Leah gasped and flinched as the water hit her face, dripping down her sweater.

"Awh, you didn't melt." Stiles pouted as Leah blinked water away.

"I'm going to kill you." Leah said, picking up her fork. Stiles smirked at her.

"Yeah, do you even know how to use that?" Stiles asked. Leah lunged for him, but Scott practically flew over the table to stop her.

"So that's a _no_." Lydia said, glancing at Allison.

Leah shot daggers at Stiles and furiously packed up her things, pushing out of her chair and stomping to the girls' locker room. "Leah—" Allison called after her, gathering her things up and following her friend.

The door banged open as Leah entered, Allison caught the door and slipped inside after Leah. Leah dropped her things and went to the sinks, staring at herself in the mirror. She caught sight of Allison, who gave her a timid smile,

"You okay?" She asked, eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, just a little wet." Leah returned the smile before letting out a sigh.

Leah pulled up her wet hair into a bun and walked past Allison, heading towards her locker. Allison followed and watched as Leah went into her locker, grabbing a t-shirt from her duffel.

"Is there anything I can do?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows. Leah tugged off her damp sweater and pulled on the dry shirt.

"Kill Stiles?" Leah asked, "I won't tell anyone, swear." Leah heard Allison laugh and when she pulled her head through the top of the shirt, there was a smile on Allison's face. "Thank you…for coming to check on me."

"Of course." Allison furrowed her brow, "And I'm sorry I suggested that you two join us."

"Oh, no, don't be." Leah shook her head.

"I do think it'd be more fun if you and Stiles came though." Allison looked hopeful as Leah let out a laugh.

"It seems more like a double date and Stiles and I aren't dating…obviously." Leah explained as she hung her sweater up to dry.

"Right…" Allison tapped her fists together. Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison's hesitation. Allison noticed and sighed, "Uh, I'm just…not a fan of group dates."

"Well why didn't you say anything?" Leah asked, brow furrowing as she picked up her backpack.

"Because I—Lydia just kind of invited herself and I didn't want to be rude." Allison settled on.

"Ally, please." Leah stepped up to Allison, "You gotta stick to your guns. Don't let Lydia walk all over you." Allison laughed a little. Leah reached out to Allison, "Go out with them tomorrow and then just…don't ever do it again." Leah raised her eyebrows up as Allison laughed again, "And make sure you kick their ass in bowling. They need to be taken down a peg." Leah moved her head around a bit, grinning at Allison. Allison grinned back at Leah and nodded.

* * *

Connor shut the driver's side door of his car and stared up at the remains of the Hale house. He hadn't been back to the Hale house since before the fire and it kind of pained him to see what had become of what was once a beautiful house. Taking in a breath, Connor walked up the front, stepping up the broken stairs and onto the porch.

Pushing the door open, Connor stepped inside the house. He looked around, remembering what it looked like before the fire. Derek and him had spent countless afternoons in the living room or in Derek's room or out in the backyard playing a combination of basketball and lacrosse. Now, all that remained were burnt and broken pieces of a home.

"Hey." Derek's voice got Connor's attention and he looked up to see Derek coming down the stairs.

"Man, why are we meeting here and not somewhere…less burnt down." Connor surveyed his surroundings again before looking back at Derek, "You don't actually live here, right?"

"I have a loft downtown." Derek said by way of explanation. Connor nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets, raising his shoulders up.

"So…what's up?"

"Seen the news?" Derek asked as he got to Connor.

"Yeah, pretty terrible." Connor grimaced as he remembered hearing about the bus driver who was mauled at the school. His grimace fell as he looked back to Derek, "What do you know?"

"Nothing." Derek shook his head, "I didn't have anything to do with it."

"I never said you did." Connor responded, well aware of how Derek lived by his mother's code. Just because they were predators, didn't mean they had to be killers. Connor paused, "What? Do you think Scott had something to do with it?" He asked Derek.

Derek shrugged and settled down on one of the bottom steps, "I have no idea." Connor sighed and rubbed his hands over his face,

"Scott couldn't have done it." Connor dropped his hands from his face, "He's never hurt anyone in his life."

"Yeah, when he was human and in control." Derek pointed out, "The Alpha wants him in his pack and he'll do anything to make Scott be a part of it."

"Great." Connor sighed, "And are we any closer to figuring out who the Alpha is?" Connor raised his eyebrows as Derek looked away from Connor, jaw clicking.

"No." He seriously said. Connor let out another sigh and nodded,

"Okay, well, I doubt Leah'll tell me anything, but I'll see what I can get out of her." Connor shrugged, "And if Scott comes back around, don't be a sour wolf, okay? Actually advise him." Connor pointed at Derek, "He's a kid, he doesn't know what's going on. He's just trying to survive."

"I'll try my best." Derek looked up at Connor with a sigh. Connor rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Alright…" Connor turned away from Derek, "I'll text you later." Connor waved a hand up in the air as he walked out of the Hale house.

* * *

Stiles caught up with Leah on their way out of school. Leah gave him the side eye before sighing and focusing her attention elsewhere. Once outside, she went to turn to walk home, but Stiles grabbed her arm, jerking her back

"Hey, no, Leah, wait." Stiles said.

"Oh, ow, okay _no_." Leah took her arm back and stared at Stiles. "What?" She asked, staring at him.

"I…uh…I just wanted to…" Stiles scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, that thing at lunch." He looked her up and down, "You changed your shirt."

"I did." Leah raised her eyebrows, "Since your spit was all over my other one. Which is what I think you're trying to apologize for?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I just really didn't like that sweater you were wearing today and—and I thought you had to change."

"…Right." Leah squinted at him. Stiles gaped at Leah and she shook her head, "Bye, Stiles." She went to turn away from Stiles, but he stopped her again,

"Wait! Do you accept my apology?"

"What apology?" She called back over her shoulder. Leah heard Stiles groan as she walked down the stairs and headed towards the bike rack where Scott was waiting for her.

"I gotta get to work." Scott started, "But do you have any ideas about how to figure out what happened on the bus?" Scott raised his eyebrows up and Leah took in a breath.

"Maybe we could go to Derek." Leah suggested with a shrug. Scott gaped at her and looked around the parking lot.

"You practically smacked all my brain cells out this morning when I suggested it!" Scott cried out. Leah made a face in response.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that...Not my best…I just…we don't know any other werewolf doctors around so…he's the best we got." Leah shrugged again. Scott sighed and rolled his head back.

"Fine. I'll call Stiles later." Scott said as he took his bike out of the rack and set it on the sidewalk.

"Bye." Leah waggled her fingers at him and started the walk back to her house.

Connor's car was in the drive when Leah got to her house. She walked through the front door and immediately dropped her things in a pile by the door, peering into the living room to see her brother watching television.

"Hey." Leah called out, walking into the living room and pressing her hands on the couch.

"Hi." Connor responded, "How was school?"

"Uh, actually pretty eventful." Leah made a face as she rested her elbows on the couch.

"Really?" Connor asked, turning his head to look over at his sister.

"Mhm." Leah nodded, "Some guy was mauled to almost death on one of the buses. Apparently, Scott knew him."

"Yeah, I heard about that on the news." Connor shifted on the pillows, brow furrowing, "How'd Scott know him?"

"The guy used to drive Scott's bus when he lived with his dad."

"Huh." Connor made a face, "Interesting."

"Probably just a weird coincidence." Leah shrugged.

"Did Scott say anything else about the bus?" Connor asked as Leah stood up straighter.

"Uh, no." Leah shook her head, "Just that he knew him." Leah shrugged. Connor nodded in response,

"Kay, well, I have control over the remote tonight so either deal with it or go do something else." Connor called out as Leah walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Leah felt her phone buzz and looked down to see she had a text from Stiles.

 _Picking you up in two. Going to the station._

Leah sighed and shoved her phone back in her pocket, "I'm going out!" Leah called out.

"Kay!" Connor called back. Leah rolled her eyes and opened the back door, stepping outside as the Jeep came to a lurching stop in front of her house. She hurried down the front walk and climbed into the Jeep, over Scott and into the backseat.

"So this was your idea?" Stiles asked as soon as Scott shut the door.

"Yeah. Don't see you coming up with anything better." Leah snapped back as Stiles started to drive.

"Well, he's gonna murder us." Stiles matter of factly said. Leah rolled her eyes again and sat back in her seat as Stiles drove.

They got to the station five minutes later and Stiles parked. Scott stayed in the Jeep as Stiles and Leah got out, heading into the station. Leah sighed as she caught the door that Stiles failed to hold open and she stepped inside. They went past the front desk, Stiles saluting Ted as Leah gave him a charming grin. Ted nodded at them and buzzed them in. Stiles went into his dad's office, and Leah shut the door behind them.

"So Collins is out on patrol." Stiles started, "And Scott wants to go talk to Derek, all thanks to you," Stiles glanced up to Leah, who rolled her eyes, "So what we're gonna do is…" Stiles pulled his dad's dispatch walkie out of the drawer and tossed it at Leah. Leah caught it and looked at it for a moment before putting it in her bag.

"Have him make a detour?" Leah asked. Stiles nodded.

The two of them got out of the office and exited the station, going back to the Jeep. Stiles drove them to the Hale house, parking a little bit away and the three of them watched as the patrol car drove up in front of it. Leah gave the walkie to Stiles, who clicked it as the response came in.

 _"It looks pretty deserted, dispatch. Did you want me to take a look inside?"_ Stiles glanced at Leah, who nodded.

"Unit sixteen, it's county property." Stiles said into the walkie. "Order's to make sure it's vacant."

 _"I don't—I don't think anyone's home."_ The response came back, Stiles blew out a breath.

For the love of God, sixteen, go inside and see if anyone's there!" He ordered, sounding like his dad.

 _"Copy that._ " Collins said back. The three of them watched him start to go forward, but the dog in the cop car started to bark, spastically trying to get out of the car. Collins glanced back at the dog and shushed him.

"Why are we doing this again?" Stiles asked.

"What if I go to sleep one night and it's you I end up killing?" Scott asked, looking to Stiles, "How are you gonna feel if I kill you, Stiles?"

"I prefer not to feel anything, really." Stiles made a face and shrugged, "I have a very low tolerance for pain."

"I'd be okay with you killing Stiles." Leah said, leaning forward, and making a face.

"He'd probably kill you cause you're right next door." Stiles pointed out, "Which is fine cause then I don't die."

"Shut up." Leah said, staring at him.

"Collins is gone." Scott said, pushing open the door, "I'm gonna go talk to Derek."

"Fantastic." Stiles sighed.

"Don't die!" Leah called out after him.

Scott slammed the door shut and Stiles and Leah watched him disappear into the forest. Leah sat back in her seat and waited in silence for Scott to come back. Stiles didn't say anything either, instead tapping on the steering wheel to some beat in his head.

"Could you stop that, please?" Leah asked after a minute, "You're giving me a headache."

"Nah, I'm gonna keep going." Stiles pulled a face and continued to tap.

"You aren't even going to any real song." Leah said, leaning forward.

"Yeah I am." Stiles jutted his chin forward, "In my head." Stiles said gave Leah a look. Leah stuck out her tongue before pausing for a moment. Then she lunged forward and grabbed his wrists, trying to pull his hands away from the steering wheel.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Stiles yelled out, trying to get out of Leah's grip.

"Stop tapping!"

"Ow, your nails! You just scratched me!" Stiles was writhing back and forth in his seat, trying to get free. He managed to get one hand free and grabbed Leah's hair.

"Ow! Let go!" Leah cried out as he tugged her back.

"Let go of my wrist!"

"Let go of my hair!" Both of them were screaming as Leah dug her fingers deeper into his wrist and he tightened his grip on her hair.

"Stooooop!" Leah dragged out the word.

"You started it!"

"No, you did!"

"Guys!" Scott's voice said from behind Leah. Stiles instantly let go of her hair and Leah let go of his wrist. Scott was looking at them, completely in awe.

"I can't believe you guys." He sighed out, shaking his head, "Can't leave you alone for two minutes."

"Sorry." Stiles and Leah both said at the same time. Leah pulled back to let Scott get in his seat.

"So what'd he say?" Stiles asked.

"We have to go back to the bus." Scott answered, "He said that's how I'll remember." Leah looked between Scott and Stiles.

"Well, let's go!" She said, raising her hands in the air. Stiles started the Jeep up and maneuvered it out of the woods, heading towards the school.

It was dark by the time they got to the bus lot. Stiles parked in front of the gate and all three of them started to get out and head for the fence. Leah started to climb it, as did Stiles, only to have Scott stop them.

"Hey, no, just me." Scott grabbed Leah and pulled her back off the fence. She gave him a look as he continued, "Someone needs to keep watch."

"Leah can." Stiles said as Leah said, "Stiles."

"No, both of you."

"What happened to the not leaving us alone for two minutes?" Leah asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm willing to take a risk." Scott sighed, looking back at the bus.

"How come we're always the ones keeping watch?" Stiles flicked his hand in between the two of them.

"Because there's only three of us. It's an odd number." Scott explained.

"So? Two go and one stay." Leah said, swaying her hips around. Scott stared at them and then shook his head.

"Okay, why's it starting to feel like you're Batman, I'm Robin and she's Batgirl? I don't want to be Robin all the time." Stiles pointed to himself.

"Honestly, I don't know who any of those people are." Leah squinted at the boys. Stiles gaped at her for a moment but Scott responded before Stiles yelled at her.

"Nobody's Batman or Robin or Batgirl any of the time!" Scott shouted at them.

"Not even some of the time?" Stiles asked, attention returning to Scott.

"Just stay here." Scott growled out.

"Oh, my God!" Stiles overlapped as Leah groaned out a "Fine."

Leah whirled around on her toe and stomped back to the Jeep, wrenching open the passenger side door and climbing in as Stiles got in the driver's side. Leah watched Scott climb the fence and drop down on the other side. Stiles let out a sigh as she settled back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

A few minutes went by with the two of them sitting in silence, until Leah decided to be the bigger person for once. She glanced over to Stiles and let her eyes dart down to his wrist where there were marks from her nails. She opened her mouth to start speaking, glancing back up to look at him,

"Sorry I scratched you." Leah said, shifting in her seat again and leaning her elbow against the window frame. Stiles glanced at her, doing a double take before letting out a little laugh and shaking his head.

"What? You don't forgive me?" Leah asked, glancing at him.

"Just never thought I'd hear you apologize to me." Stiles pulled down his lips and made a face.

"Well, unlike some people, I know when to apologize for my actions." Leah shot back, dropping her arm down. Stiles barked out a laugh.

"Yeah, okay." Leah glared at Stiles as they fell back into a silence. Stiles was picking the steering wheel cover before sighing.

"I'm sorry I pulled your hair." He mumbled. Leah rolled her eyes and let out a pity laugh.

"Oh, come on. You aren't sorry. You're just mad it wasn't a wig."

"Oh, yeah, totally." Stiles laughed, glancing at her.

Leah couldn't help but let out a little laugh along with him, shaking her head and meeting his gaze. The two of them stared at each other for a moment after their laughter died out—small smiles on their faces, before realizing what they were doing. The smiles dropped off of their faces at the same time and they quickly looked away from each other,

"But still you deserved it." Leah said, making a face, "I mean, that was _super annoying_."

"Oh please, not as annoying as that time you kept humming during practice."

"At least I was keeping a beat." Leah snapped back.

"No, you weren't!" Stiles laughed out, "It was like an extremely off key version of the Backstreet Boys."

"Oh my _God_." Leah groaned, "At least I don't blast some music that's basically a bunch of people screaming."

"Hey! Those are some good bands!"

"No, they aren't!" Leah shouted back, gaping at Stiles. Stiles' jaw clicked as he jutted out his chin before looking back out the windshield. He scrubbed his hand over his head and let out a sigh. Then he straightened up, eyes trained on the bus lot.

"Oh no." He mumbled and Leah looked to where he was looking to see a flashlight scan over the buses.

Stiles slammed his hand on the horn, beeping quickly and alerting Scott. They watched as Scott ran off the bus and ran towards the Jeep. He used a car to launch himself over the fence and did a flip, landing on his feet and hurrying over to the Jeep. Leah quickly climbed in the back as Scott got in.

"Go! Go! Go!" Leah yelled out.

"Oh, nah, I was just gonna stay!" Stiles yelled back as he reversed the Jeep, turning the wheel sharply to turn around and head down the road away from the bus lot.

"Did it work? Did you remember?" Stiles shouted as they got onto the main road.

"Yeah, I was there last night." Scott hurriedly said, "And the blood—a lot of it was mine."

"So you did attack him." Leah stated, pushing her head in between the space.

"No!" Scott glanced back at Leah, "I saw glowing eyes in the bus, but they weren't mine. It was Derek."

"What about the driver?" Stiles asked as he ran a red light.

"I think I was actually trying to protect him." Scott's brow furrowed as did Leah's.

"Wait, why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?" Leah asked, "That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't get it either." Scott answered her.

"It's got to be a pack thing." Stiles shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked, looking to Stiles.

"You know, like an initiation. You do the kill together."

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience?" Scott sarcastically asked.

"But you didn't do it! Which means you're not a killer." Stiles laughed out, ignoring Leah's comment. "And it also means that—"

"I can go out with Allison." Scott sighed out in relief. Leah made a face, but looked at her best friend, nodding a bit.

"I was gonna say it means you won't kill me." Stiles bobbed his head.

"Oh, yeah. That too." Scott nodded, looking to Stiles.

"Guess a dream isn't a wish your heart makes..." Leah sighed, "It's a wish your werewolf _makes_ you remember." Scott glanced at Leah as Stiles furrowed his brow,

"So Derek almost killed another person." Leah continued, flipping her hand around, "Laura and the bus driver. There's no link though."

"Well, there's not always a method to someone's madness." Stiles commented, "You would know." Leah gave him a look and lifted a finger gun up, pointing it at him. She fired off a shot, making a little noise to go with it.

* * *

 **A/N: Wooooo! Another chapter for you lovely readers! TYSM for all the reviews and please don't hesitate to tell me all of your thoughts!**


	10. Milkshakes and Fries

_"I still have your underwear."_

 _"I still have your virginity."_

"How many times have you played this movie?" Stiles asked as he came up to the front desk. Leah groaned and ripped a Twizzler apart with her teeth.

"It's a classic, ya dick. And when you run this place, you can pick the movies." Leah said, glancing at him as he set the stack of werewolf movies on the front counter.

"No, thanks." Stiles made a face and stepped back, hands on his hips. Leah looked from the movies and then back to Stiles.

"These were due like a week ago." Leah said, waving her Twizzler around the stack. Stiles made some motion with his hand.

"Right, well, I was gonna return them and then Scott went wolf and…"

"And you owe me like fifteen dollars in late fees." Leah finished for him, scrunching up her nose. Stiles gaped at her.

"What?!" He rolled forward on his toes, "No! That's ridiculous."

"Maybe it you returned your movies on time…" Leah trailed off as she finished off her Twizzler. Leah watched him groan and roll his head back and gave him a smirk.

"Okay, how about this." Stiles threw his hand toward her, "I buy you dinner at Toby's."

"Oh, wow, a burger joint, _so fancy_." Leah made a face and settled back down on her elbows, "Or you could just pay the fee." Stiles groaned again.

"I'll throw in a large curly fry." He bargained. Leah raised her eyebrows and chewed on another Twizzler, "And a milkshake! Kane, please!" He clasped his hands in front of his face, "I don't have any cash on me and you guys don't take cards." He pleaded.

"Fine." Leah said after a moment. She wasn't a fan of Stiles, but she wasn't about to give up free food. "But you're driving." Stiles let out a breath of relief and let his arms drop.

"So can we go?" Stiles asked as Leah started to scan the movies back in.

"Uh…" Leah motioned to the stack of movies, "I have to do this thing called work."

"Well, what time do you get off?" Stiles asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Nine." Leah responded, "But there's a police enforced curfew and—" Stiles cut her off with a laugh.

"When have you ever listened to what the police say?" Stiles asked. Leah smirked at him.

"Touché." She pointed a DVD at him, "Just go hang out with Scott or masturbate until I'm done."

"Scott's on his _hangout_." Stiles said, making air quotes around the word, "And I already did that today." Leah gave Stiles a look before shaking her head.

"Just go away and leave me be." Leah said, waving her hand at him, "I'll just meet you there." Stiles nodded and backed up, looking at the television screens.

"Such a dumb movie." He whispered to himself.

Leah hurled the DVD at him, nailing him on the shoulder. Stiles flinched and gaped at her as he walked out. She smiled to herself and settled back into the scanning the movies back into the system.

Scott was out on his double date with Allison and the power couple. Leah had spent the school day with him, trying to get him not to freak out and back out. He was going to be fine. He even managed to snag the car from his mom—Leah had seen him leave when she left for work.

Allison had tried to get Leah to tag along with them, again, but Leah knew when she wasn't wanted. Lydia and Jackson surely didn't want her there, even though Leah would kick both of their asses. So Leah politely declined Allison's offer again and she said Leah owed her. Leah had even managed to get herself out of helping Allison get ready. There was a moment that Leah felt guilty, but she remembered that Lydia would be there, who was a better help at getting people ready than Leah was.

"Yo, Leah." Todd made Leah look around the shelf she had been restocking, "It's nine. You can get out of here, if you want."

"Oh, I want." Leah said, shoving the movies haphazardly against the shelf. "I've wanted to get out of here since I got here."

"Woooow." Todd drew the word out as Leah walked back up to the counter.

"No offense." Leah added on. Todd rolled his eyes at her.

"Are you hurrying because of a certain boy?" Todd asked as Leah went to the computer.

"What?" Leah felt her brow furrow, " _No_." Leah scoffed out, "All I'm doing is going home and watching Netflix."

"Sure you are." Todd said with a knowing smile. Leah clicked on the clock out button and grabbed her time slip.

"Bye, Todd!" She sang out as she grabbed her board and bag and went for the door.

Leah set her board down and pushed off, heading towards the gas station. She needed to pick up another pack of Twizzlers, since she had run out during work and there were none at the house. Twizzlers were like crack to Leah. When Scott and her were younger and they went trick or treating, he would give her all of his Twizzlers for her chocolate bars and Leah didn't mind one bit.

The Twizzlers were located in the back of the gas station with all the other candy. Leah grabbed a pack and went up to pay the cashier. She went for the door, but stopped when she saw what was happening outside. There was a black Camaro sitting at the pump with two Land Rovers blocking it in. There was a guy who looked like Allison's dad wiping the windshield of the Camaro. Leah slowly put the pieces together and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Derek standing by the Camaro, fists clenched.

Leah couldn't hear what Mr. Argent was saying, so she quietly stepped outside, leaning against the building. Derek's stance was defensive, ready for an attack.

"If you have something this nice, you want to take care of it, right? Personally, I'm very protective of the things I love." Mr. Argent was saying as he continued to wipe the windshield. "But that's something I learned from my family. And you don't have much of that these days. Do you?" Mr. Argent looked at Derek. Leah watched Derek visibly tense up even more so, which made Mr. Argent smile.

"There we go." Mr. Argent said, finishing the windshield and putting the wiper back, "You can actually look through your windshield now. See how that makes everything so much clearer?" Mr. Argent gave Derek a smile before turning away.

"You forgot to check the oil." Derek called out. Mr. Argent looked back at Derek and nodded.

"Check the man's oil." He said to one of the other guys, who was standing around Derek.

The guy went up to the driver's side window and smashed it with a crowbar. Leah jumped in surprise, but Derek didn't even flinch.

"Looks good to me." The guy said, with a shrug. Leah watched as Mr. Argent bid Derek a good night and then the men got into the Land Rovers and sped off, leaving Derek and Leah alone.

"Well, that was interesting." Leah spoke up, stepped off of the curb and walking to where the Camaro was.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asked, brushing the glass off of the car.

"It was like the Jets and the Sharks. I had no idea I was living in a musical." Leah made a face, not answering Derek's question. Derek raised his eyebrows at Leah, "So I'm guessing there's…some bad blood there?" Leah waved the Twizzler package around in the air.

"You could say that." Derek all about growled out. Leah nodded.

"Good to know." Leah said, opening the bag of Twizzlers. She offered the pack to Derek who shook his head in response. Leah shrugged and dug her hand into the bag, taking out a Twizzler and watching as Derek made sure there was no glass inside of his car.

"There's a mechanic's shop a little ways up." Leah said, "My brother used to play lacrosse with the guy who owns the place."

"Thanks for the tip." Derek gruffly said. Leah raised her eyebrows.

"Remind me never to help you out again." Leah raised her hands in the air, "Have a good one." Leah said, turning away. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she walked away from Derek.

"Coleslaw, why are you calling me?" Leah answered the phone with a sigh.

 _"Where the hell are you?"_ Stiles immediately responded, _"I thought you were meeting me here!_ "

"Where?" Leah asked.

 _"Oh, come on, Barbie."_ Stiles scoffed out, _"At Toby's!"_ Leah felt her brow furrow for a moment before she realized what he was talking about.

"Oh! Shit." She cursed out, "Uh, right. Yeah. I'm coming." Stiles let out a frustrated groan before hanging up. Leah shook her head and put her board down, pushing off and heading towards Toby's.

Leah spotted Stiles sitting at the back corner booth as soon as she walked into the burger joint. He saw her and rolled his head back, letting out a sigh.

"I don't have all night, Barbie." Stiles said as Leah came over.

"Oh, you do too." Leah made a face as she dropped her stuff on the seat. Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Milkshakes and fries. Like promised." Stiles gestured to the trays of food in front of them. Leah eyed the food for a moment, knowing that she wasn't allergic to peanut oil, but knowing Stiles _would_ get her a peanut butter milkshake, just to be a dick. "It's chocolate." Stiles said, seeing her hesitation, "Where were you?" He asked, changing the topic.

"I was watching a showdown happen." Stiles raised his eyebrows.

"What? Someone put a rom com in the horror section?" He asked. Leah pulled the extra chocolate milkshake closer to herself. Leah took a sip as she shrugged.

"A little bit more exciting." Leah waited for Stiles to respond, but he just stared at her, "I saw Mr. Argent _threaten_ Derek Hale." Leah said, leaning forward and waggling her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows and leaning closer to Leah. She pulled back and sat up against the booth.

"It was like they were rival gangs and Derek was on Mr. Argent's turf."

"What happened?" Leah stabbed her straw down into her milkshake.

"Nothing." Leah made a face, "I was coming out as it ended so…"

"So you got nothing." Stiles finished for her, sitting back and rolling his head, "God, _useless_."

"Hey!" Leah cried out, "I'm not useless." Leah pointed at Stiles with a fry, "Obviously there's something going on there."

"Well, yeah, considering Mr. Argent is a werewolf hunter and Derek's a _werewolf_." Stiles hissed out, "That could cause some tension, yeah." Leah chomped down on her fry and gave Stiles a smirk.

Stiles slumped down in his seat and brushed something off the table as Leah took another fry. She looked around the burger joint, not really knowing what to say next. The last time she had been to Toby's with Stiles was when they were in middle school.

"I honestly don't think I've been here since middle school." Leah voiced her thoughts, eyes still looking around the burger joint.

"Really?" Stiles instantly asked, glancing at her. Leah looked back at him, raising her eyebrows,

"Uh, yeah. I try to avoid all places that have been tainted with the memory of you." Leah sighed as she reached for another fry,

"Oh, come on, you're still upset about that?" Stiles asked.

"Yes, Stiles, I am." Leah widened her eyes, "We were hanging out here and then _Lydia Martin_ waltzed in and you lost your shit."

"I—I—didn't lose my shit." Stiles scoffed.

"Oh, _please_." Leah rolled her eyes, "I can't even drink vanilla milkshakes because of that night."

"Hey, that was not my fault." Stiles pointed at her, "If anything, that was all you."

"How?" Leah asked, raising her shoulders, "How in holy hell was that my fault?"

"I only invited you to hang out because I knew she was going to be here and Scott was with his dad so obviously you were my second _and last_ choice. So if you hadn't come, you wouldn't have gotten an milkshake bath." Stiles blurted out. Leah gaped at him.

"So you used me to ogle Lydia Martin's boobs." Leah stated, leaning forward in the booth. "And then when it backfired, she took it out on me. That seems like it's your fault, Stilinski." Stiles pulled up short and motioned to her with his hand.

"Well, when you say it like that…" Leah fell back in her seat with a groan and rolled her eyes.

"Oh my God." Leah laughed out, "You're really something, Stiles, you know that?" Leah squinted at Stiles before she began to gather her things up, "I honestly don't even know why I try to have a semi-normal night with you because you just continually remind me that _you_ , are an asshole. Always have been, always will be." Leah bit out, moving out of the booth and going for the door.

"Leah, wait—"

"Nope." Leah snapped back, marching outside as Stiles followed.

Leah let the door slam in his face and he banged on the glass, trying to get her to turn around. She whirled around and flipped him off. Stiles gaped at her before pulling the door open and stepping outside.

"At least let me drive you home." He said.

"Oh, cause that's gonna make up for it." Leah laughed out, "Yeah, _no_." Leah turned away from him again, ready to start home.

"If your mom catches you out past curfew, she'll kill you." Stiles pointed out. Leah took in a breath and slowly turned back around. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine." Leah said, moving her head around and rolling her eyes, giving in. Stiles nodded and they started to his Jeep.

"I didn't know—" Stiles started as they sat at a red light, "I didn't know she was going to do that to you."

"Yeah, neither did I." Leah sighed out, rubbing her temples, "My Backstreet Boys tee was ruined."

"Well, you're welcome." Stiles teased, getting a glare from Leah. Stiles sighed, "You know what, I'm sorry, okay? But you've done some equally asshole-ish things too, Leah." Stiles pointed out, "We both know that what happened at Toby's wasn't even the reason we stopped being friends."

"I'm aware, thank you." Leah snapped out, "But it was still pretty shitty and probably the start of the end of our friendship."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest as Stiles turned down her street. Stiles glanced over to Leah, looking like he wanted to say something, but he decided against it. He slowed down in front of Leah's house.

"Thanks." Leah said, "For the ride." Leah paused, "I would say thanks for the food, but I didn't really eat any of it."

"Cause you were too busy reminiscing about the past."

"I'd rather just forget about it. And tonight." Leah said, meeting Stiles' look.

"Yeah, sure. Never happened." Stiles raised his eyebrows at Leah and nodded. Leah nodded back and pushed out of the Jeep, hopping out. Stiles drove away as soon as she was through the front gate.

Leah walked into her house, dropping her backpack at the foot of the stairs before going into the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at the counter, eating some leftovers, but turned to look at her when she entered.

"Where've you been?" He asked around a mouthful of food.

"Work." Leah shrugged, pulling off her jacket.

"Work is over at nine. It's almost ten." Drew said, pointing his fork at the clock, "Where'd ya go?"

"Out." Leah shrugged again.

"Are you aware there's a police enforced curfew and that if your mother was to catch you—"

"I was with Stiles!" Leah cried out, cutting her dad off.

"HA!" Drew pointed at Leah with his fork, almost jumping out of his seat. "Tara! You owe me five bucks!" Drew called out.

"Damnit!" Tara's voice called back. Leah tried to hide her smile, by shaking her head and looking down.

"I hate you guys." Leah mumbled as she walked over to her dad.

"You went on a date." Drew sang out as Leah took his leftovers.

"No, I didn't." Leah quickly shot him down, "No, we weren't on a date." Leah scoffed out, "Trust me, I'd never go out on a date with Stiles." She swirled the noodles around the fork.

"Then what did you do?" Drew asked, leaning his cheek in his hand. Leah shrugged as she put the fork to her mouth,

"Nothing, he bought me food—"

"So it was a date." Drew cut her off. Leah gave him a look.

"Because he didn't want to pay his late fees." Leah finished, shoving the fork into her mouth. Her dad made a face as Tara came into the kitchen, still in her uniform.

"She didn't go on a date." Drew said as Tara came around the counter.

"But I thought she was with Stiles."

"Just because I'm with Stiles doesn't mean I'm _with_ Stiles." Leah said, motioning with the fork.

"Damn." Tara sighed out, "And here I thought were gonna hear date stories." Leah's mom took the leftovers from Leah and started to eat them.

"You two are ridiculous, do you know that?" Leah asked, pointing her fingers at the two of them, "It's never gonna happen." Tara and Drew shared a look, both smiling before Tara's phone started to buzz. She stepped back and looked at it for a second before answering.

"Deputy Kane." She answered, shifting into deputy mode. Leah shared a look with her dad as Tara listened to whoever was on the other line.

"I'll be right over." Tara ended the call and looked to Drew. "The sheriff is on his way to the hospital. Apparently, the bus driver succumbed to his wounds." She said with a sad smile. Drew's brow furrowed.

"But he was well on his way to recovery." Drew shook his head, "Melissa said so herself."

"Apparently not." Tara sighed and rubbed her stomach, "I have to head to the hospital and help the sheriff."

"I'll wait up." Drew kissed Tara's cheek before she walked out of the kitchen.

Leah pulled her lips in and waited for the front door to close. The two of them sat there in silence until Leah pushed the leftovers towards her dad; she had to get to Scott and tell him what happened.

"I'm gonna head upstairs." Leah said, stepping back from the counter. Drew nodded and gave her a quick hug before letting Leah go up to her bedroom.

Webster was lounging on Leah's bed as she went into her room. He watched her as Leah went over to her window. Leah pushed the panes open and climbed out, stepping onto the branch of the tree in front of her window. Leah crawled over to Scott's window, which was already opened, and tumbled through, only to slam into someone and hear three screams.

"Oh shit!" Leah cried out, flailing back as she tried to get her bearings.

"Leah!" Mrs. McCall's voice hit an octave, "Jesus!"

"What are you doing here?!" Stiles yelled, and Leah realized he was the one she slammed into. He shoved her, making Leah roll a bit.

"And that's about enough parenting for me for one night." Mrs. McCall sighed out, "Goodnight." She motioned to them and walked out the door. Leah shifted on Scott's bed, getting comfortable as she looked at Scott.

"What?" Scott asked, looking at Stiles and Leah.

"My dad was leaving for the hospital when I got home." Stiles sighed out.

"Yeah and my mom just left." Leah added on.

"It's the bus driver." Stiles continued, "They said he succumbed to his wounds."

"Succumbed?" Scott asked, looking confused.

"Scott, he's dead." Stiles solemnly said. Scott looked in between the two of them.

"Which is weird cause Drew said that he was fine." Leah said, brow furrowing as she looked to Stiles and then to Scott.

"He succumbed, Barbie, which means the wounds overtook and he died." Stiles said as if Leah were stupid.

"No, he was fine when I saw him." Scott shook his head.

"When did you see him?" Leah asked, looking to Scott.

"Yesterday before we went to see Derek." Scott motioned with his hand. Leah didn't know how to respond and neither did Stiles. She chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged.

"Maybe Derek killed him." Leah suggested. "Maybe he went to the hospital and—" But before she could finish her thought, Scott had turned and ran out of the room.

Stiles and Leah looked at each other before jumping up and running after him. Both of them got to the door at the same time, getting stuck in the doorframe. Leah pushed ahead and ran down the stairs.

Scott was gone by the time Leah got outside. She slowed down as she came to the edge of the yard, looking around the neighborhood. Stiles huffed as he came to a stop next to Leah.

"Good one, Barbie." He sighed out before heading to the Jeep. "Now we gotta go back out in the woods to find—"

"Leah Megan Kane!" Leah heard her dad shout, making her jump. She whirled around to see her dad standing on the porch of their house, hands on his hips, "Where in God's name do you think you're going?"

"Holy shit." Leah whispered out.

"Your middle name is _Megan_?" Stiles asked, brow furrowing. Leah gave him a look.

"How long have you known me?" Leah asked.

"Leah!"

"Coming!" Leah yelled back to her dad. Leah looked to Stiles, "Find him. Okay?" Stiles nodded and ran around the front of the Jeep. She stepped back and headed back to her house as Stiles sped off. Drew gave Leah a look as she stepped onto the front stoop.

"Trying to sneak out to the lookout, eh?" Drew asked, eyebrows raised

"You wish." Leah grumbled out as she walked past him and stomped up the stairs.

* * *

Connor was lounging on the couch in the Hale living room, leafing one of the books that made it through the fire, when the front door was thrown open. Startled, Connor looked over to see Scott McCall stalking into the house, screaming Derek's name.

"I know you're here!" Scott yelled out. "I know what you did!"

"I didn't do anything." Derek's voice came back, sounding calm. Connor sat up on the couch, placing his book next to him as Scott went for the stairs.

"You killed him!"

"He _died_." Derek emphasized.

Connor slowly caught up with what was going on. The two of them had gone to visit the bus driver earlier in the evening because Derek wanted to talk to him about what happened on the bus. Apparently Derek didn't get far since the bus driver decided then was the perfect time to die.

"Like your sister died?" Scott asked, slowly climbing up the stairs.

"My sister was missing. I came here looking for her." Derek had yet to make an appearance and Connor sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

"You found her."

"I found her in pieces!" Derek suddenly shouted out, "Being used as bait to catch me." Connor let his hands drop from his face and went to chew on his bottom lip. He slowly got off the couch preparing to slip out while Scott was still preoccupied with Derek; he had been trying to keep Scott from finding out that he knew what was going on.

"I think you killed them both." Scott was still climbing the stairs, "And I'm gonna tell everyone. Starting with the sheriff." He threatened as he got to the top of the stairs. Connor walked out of the living room just in time to see Derek grab Scott and throw him down the stairs.

"Oh—my God." Connor jumped back, hands up in the air.

He gave Derek a wide eyed look before looking back down at Scott, who's face had turned wolfish. Scott let out a growl, turning back to look at Derek, who dramatically jumped off of the top of the stairs, landing in front of Scott.

"Seriously?" Connor asked, mostly to himself.

Connor pressed himself against the front door as Scott got to his feet. Scott grabbed Derek by the shirt and threw him back, hard enough that Derek went through the wall and into the next room.

"Jesus _Christ_." Connor complained, rolling his eyes.

Scott glanced over to Connor, finally noticing he was there. Connor watched Scott's eyebrows furrow in confusion and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Derek's roar. Scott's head snapped back to Derek and he remembered what he came to do. Connor watched Scott step through the hole that Derek's body had made, both of them letting out growls before going at it.

"Alright." Connor nodded, giving both of them a thumbs up they couldn't see, "So much for just giving advice." Connor pulled down the corners of his mouth and watched Derek and Scott battle it out from the front hall.

Connor had to give it to Scott; he wasn't going to down as easily as Connor expected. Scott got a few solid hits and punches in on Derek, but Derek was clearly stronger and more skilled than him. The fight last roughly two minutes and ended when Derek sliced his claws across Scott's chest, forcing Scott to turn back. Derek shifted back into his human form, turning to look at where Scott was propped up against the bottom of one of the chairs, tenderly touching his wound. Both of them were breathing quite heavily and Scott turned to look at Derek, a glare still on his face.

"I didn't kill him." Derek seriously said as Connor stepped through the hole, "Neither of us did. It's not your fault and it's not mine." Derek took in a deep breath as Scott looked at him in surprise.

" _This_!?" Scott cried out as he got to his feet, "This is all your fault! You ruined my life!" Scott shouted, getting in Derek's face.

"No, I didn't." Derek responded, walking around Scott. Connor crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against one of the columns as he watched the two argue.

"You're the one who bit me." Scott accused.

"No, I'm not." Derek shot down his accusation.

" _What_!?" Scott yelled out, surprised and confused.

"I'm not the one who bit you." Derek repeated himself.

Connor watched as Scott took in a shaky breath, touching his now healed wound. Scott flinched as he remembered the night on the bus with the driver. He fell back on the chair, breathing heavily as he stared at his hands.

"There's another." Scott concluded.

"It's called an Alpha." Derek explained, "It's the most dangerous of our kind." Derek glanced to where Connor was standing. Connor shifted his weight against the column and kept a careful eye on Scott.

"You and I," Derek turned back to Scott, "We're betas. This thing, is more powerful, more _animal_ than either of us." Derek continued, "I'm trying to find him, but I don't think I can do it without you."

"Why me?" Scott asked.

"Because he's the one that bit you." Connor spoke up for the first time since the fight began. Scott's eyes darted over to where Connor stood.

"You're part of his pack." Derek got Scott's attention, "It's you, Scott, you're the one he wants."

There was a moment of silence in the room as Derek let his statement settle. Scott's eyes flicked over to Connor and Connor saw him get up from the couch. Connor pushed off the column, arms still crossed over his chest as Scott came up to him.

"You knew?" Scott asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah…" Connor sighed out, "There's an extra shirt in my car. I'll be out in a second." Connor continued, glancing from Scott to Derek. Scott looked over at Derek before nodding at Connor and heading out of the Hale house.

Once Scott was outside, Connor stepped forward, smacking Derek's chest with his hand.

"That's for being an idiot." Connor raised his eyebrows at Derek, "I'm not dealing with you right now. I have to go deal with the sixteen year old you just beat up." Connor made his eyes wide at Derek, who let out a huff. Connor shook his head at Derek, turning to walk away, " _Ridiculous_." Connor mumbled, knowing Derek could hear him.

Jogging down the front steps, Connor spotted Scott by his car, pulling the extra shirt over his head. Connor let out a sigh and headed over to Scott, leaning against the front hood.

"So…" Connor started, "You're a werewolf." Connor motioned to Scott before crossing his arms over his chest.

"And you knew?" Scott asked, "All this time? And you didn't help me—us?" Scott corrected himself. Connor swallowed and nodded.

"Yep, yeah that was a shitty move on my part, I'll give you that." Connor raised a finger up, "But, you guys also didn't tell me what happened, so." Connor was referring to his sister and Scott. Scott did a double take and raised his eyebrows at Connor.

"Are you _serious_?! All this time, I've been freaking out about this and we've tried so many things to figure everything out and you've just been hanging out with Derek! You could've at least helped us!" Scott cried out. Connor didn't immediately respond—instead, he nodded, looking at Scott.

"You're right." Connor raised his eyebrows, "But I'm here now and I'm willing to help. You just have to trust me…and Derek." Connor added on. Scott sighed, slumping against the side of the car, "Oh, and you can't tell Leah that you know I know. I need to be the one to tell her."

"I can't lie to her." Scott shook his head.

"Yeah, you will." Connor nodded, not allowing for it to be discussed further. He pushed off the side of the car and walked around to the driver's side, "Get in, I'll give you a ride home." Connor said as he opened the driver's side door.

* * *

 **A/N: Thoughts?**


	11. Wrong Side of the Bullet

In the middle of the night, Leah woke up to the sound of someone falling out of the tree next to her window. Leah lifted her head up and looked over to her window. Groaning, Leah pushed out of bed and went over to the window to see Scott brushing himself off. Leah pushed open her window and stuck her head out, "What are you doing?" Leah asked, squinting down at her best friend.

"Nothing." Scott shook his head as he looked up at Leah, "Just go back to sleep." Scott waved a hand up at Leah's window. Leah sleepily nodded, yawning a bit as she closed her window and walked away. Leah fell back on her bed, falling back asleep as her head hit the pillow.

It could've been minutes or hours later—Leah wasn't sure, but she was woke up to the sound of something tapping at her window. Leah rolled over and opened her eyes to see someone perched outside. Leah pushed up into a sitting position and went over to the window, seeing that it was Scott. Leah waved him in and Scott opened the window, stepping onto the window seat before quietly stepping into the bedroom.

"Hey." Scott whispered. "Just wanted to say I was back." Leah nodded and went over to her bed, climbing back in it and wrapping her comforter around herself,

"Where'd you go?" She asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Scott sat down on Leah's bed and looked over at her,

"I heard a gunshot and then a wolf howling." Scott explained. Leah perked up, letting her hand drop from her face,

"What? Seriously?" Leah asked and Scott nodded in response,

"I went to go check it out and I found that it was Mr. Argent and some other woman." Scott's brow furrowed, "I don't know who she was—"

"Do you know who was shot?"

"I don't know." Scott looked back at Leah, "But the woman said he had forty-eight hours."

"Forty-eight hours?" Leah asked, "To live?" Leah asked a follow-up question.

"I guess." Scott shrugged. Leah made a face,

"Well…sucks for that person." She settled on. Scott nodded in agreement. The two were quiet for a moment before Leah spoke up, "Hey, where'd you end up going last night?" Leah asked, referring back to when Scott ran off. Stiles had texted her that he couldn't find Scott at Derek's, but Scott texted both of them, letting them know he was okay.

Leah let out another yawn and Scott caught it, yawning himself before answering, "To Derek's. I wanted to talk to him about the bus driver."

"Guessing you didn't do much talking." Leah said, leaning back against the window that was behind her bed. Scott made a face and shook his head.

"He beat me up pretty bad. But he didn't kill the bus driver, or his sister."

"Then who did?" Leah asked.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged, "He's not the one who bit me either." Leah felt her brow furrow as she looked at Scott,

"Derek didn't bite you." Leah stated, leaning forward a bit. Scott shook his head, picking up one of the pillows on Leah's bed and placing it his lap so he could run his fingers through the material,

"No. There's another. An Alpha." Scott explained.

"An Alpha." Leah repeated, "So Derek's not an Alpha?" Leah asked, trying to figure out what Scott was getting at.

"Right." Scott nodded.

"And he didn't bite you?" Leah continued said, getting another nod from Scott. "Did he kill the bus driver?"

"I don't know." Scott shook his head. "I know he was the one who attacked him on the bus, but I don't know if he killed him after the fact."

"Interesting." Leah looked away from Scott for a moment. "There's like a whole werewolf hierarchy." Leah mumbled to herself.

"And Derek wants me to help find the Alpha." Scott added on, getting Leah to look back at him.

"Why?"

"Because I guess…he wants to know if the Alpha knows anything about Laura." Scott tried to answer Leah's question, but even he didn't know why Derek wanted his help, "Derek said that I'm part of the Alpha's pack and that I'm the one the Alpha wants."

"Wants?" Leah raised her eyebrows, "Like as a prize?"

"I don't know." Scott shrugged, running his hand over Leah's pillow again. Leah stayed quiet, nodding at Scott and glancing from the pillow to Scott.

"Anything else?" Leah asked. Scott looked at her for a moment, debating on telling her about Connor before swallowing and looking back at the pillow. He shook his head and heard Leah sigh,

"Okay, so we have to find this Alpha guy…or girl." Leah furrowed her brow, sitting back against the window.

"Right." Scott nodded. Leah let out another breath and Scott looked up to see her rubbing her face with her hands.

"Can we figure that out tomorrow?" Leah asked with a yawn. Scott tried to stifle the response yawn but it escaped as he nodded.

"Yeah, definitely." Scott blinked, suddenly feeling tired. Leah noticed and patted the empty space next to her. Scott nodded and crawled over to the empty side of the bed, flopping down on his stomach.

He looked up at Leah, wanting to tell her about Connor, but Leah had already snuggled down in her covers, turning on her side so her back was to Scott. Scott licked his lips and shifted on the bed, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Scott was woken up by Leah smacking him with a pillow. He jumped awake and looked over to see that Leah was already dressed and standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"Come on." Leah gestured to him, trying to get him to wake up a bit faster, "We're gonna be late." Scott sleepily nodded and rolled out of Leah's bed. He walked past her, getting smacked with the pillow again,

"Don't think I've forgotten about your _hangout_ with Allison." Leah teased, "I expect details on our way to school."

Scott gave her a lazy smile and nodded before heading towards the window. He pushed out the window and climbed onto one of the branches. Leah watched him climb into his bedroom before closing her window.

She walked out of her bedroom just in time to see Connor sprint by her. Leah made a face and stepped out into the hallway after him, "You okay?" She asked.

"Mhm!" Connor waved his hand up at Leah as he jumped off the last step and went out the door.

Leah shook her head at her brother and went down the stairs at a much slower pace. She went into the empty kitchen and grabbed two granola bars before heading back out to the foyer. Leah picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She grabbed her skateboard, shoving it under her arm, and walked out of the front door, locking it behind her.

Scott met her in between their houses and Leah handed him a granola bar, which he took with a grateful smile. Her eyes were trained on her phone, scrolling through the news for any stories about someone being shot,

"There's nothing about who was shot." Leah said as she dropped her board on the ground. She looked up at Scott and shrugged, stuffing her phone into her back pocket.

"So he didn't go to the hospital or anything?" Scott asked.

"Apparently not." Leah shrugged. "Being shot has _got_ to be the worst." She said offhandedly. Scott and her fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way to school. "Anyway, how was bowling?" Leah asked, changing the subject and grinning at Scott.

"Really good." Scott nodded to himself, a small smile on his face, "I think she likes me."

"So you didn't totally suck." Leah said, glancing at Scott. Scott shook his head and laughed.

"Nope."

"Good." Leah nodded, making an approving sound.

"How was your date with Stiles?" Scott asked. Leah was so thrown off by Scott's question, she misangled her board and went stumbling off of it. Scott couldn't help but laugh as Leah glared at him. She jogged to grab her board, stopping it from rolling all the way away from her.

"It wasn't a date." Leah grumbled, picking it up.

"Sure sounded like a date." Scott raised his eyebrows as he stood up on his bike, "From what Stiles told me."

"Well, everything Stiles says is a lie." Leah made a face at Scott as she threw her board back down and stepped on it, pushing off.

"Okay, then how was your _whatever it was_?"

"Fine." Leah said in a tone that said _drop it_. Scott grinned at her.

Leah stayed with Scott as he chained up his bike. Stiles came up to them and Leah crossed her arms over her chest, "Coleslaw." Leah greeted him.

"Barbie. You look like shit." Stiles nodded at her.

"You look worse." Leah snapped back, making her eyes wide and let her mouth open a bit.

"Are you sure about that?" Stiles asked, stepping forward. Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you wanna tell him or should I?" Leah asked Scott, eyes still on Stiles.

"Tell me what?" Stiles asked as Scott sighed, "Tell me _what_?" Stiles all about shouted, getting annoyed. Leah smirked at him,

"God, you're so impatient." Leah crossed her arms over her chest, "How do you even get away with masturbating if you can't even last a minute?"

"Good thing it only takes a minute." Stiles shot back.

Leah grimaced and Stiles realized what he said. He opened his mouth a little before he closed it and then shook his head, deciding to just drop it.

"Anyway, tell me what?" Stiles asked as the bell rang. Leah rocked back on her heels, giving the boys finger guns,

"Gotta go boys. Harris awaits." Leah said before turning on her toes and going into school.

* * *

"Derek!" Connor yelled out as he burst into the Hale house, "Derek!" Connor called out, peering into the rooms of the house, "Oh my _God._ " He complained, taking the stairs two at a time to look for his friend.

"Derek!?" Connor called out again, knowing Derek wasn't in the house. Connor let out a sigh and rubbed his hand over his mouth as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Derek's number as he hurried down the stairs, flannel billowing out behind him,

"Hey!" Connor immediately spoke as soon as Derek answered, "Where the hell are you?"

" _Trying to find Scott."_ Derek softly said, " _I need his help._ "

"What the hell happened?" Connor asked, referring to the 9-1-1 text he had woken up to earlier that day. He had spent the majority of the day looking in various places for his friend, not being able to find him.

" _I was shot_." Derek breathed out, " _By an Argent."_

"An _Argent_?!" Connor all about shouted out, eyebrows going up, "Jesus Christ, what the hell are they doing here?!"

" _They've been back for a while_." Derek took in a shaky breath " _And one of them shot me. I'm not healing. I need to find Scott."_

 _"_ No, Derek, you need medical attention. Tell me where you are." Connor seriously said. Derek didn't respond, "Derek!" Connor looked at his phone to see that the call ended. "I'm gonna kill him." Connor said to himself before shoving his phone into his pocket and heading out of the Hale house.

* * *

Allison caught up with Leah after their last class—their teacher had let them out early. Leah glanced over to see a happy smile on Allison's face and Leah raised an eyebrow in response,

"So you did well on that English test." Leah assumed.

"Oh, yeah that was easy." Allison waved her hand around in the air and scoffed a bit.

"Then why are you all so…cheerleady?" Leah asked, motioning to her.

"Today is just a good day." Allison nodded to herself as they stopped by Leah's locker. "My aunt Kate came into town last night and she's here for my birthday and then Scott's coming over to study tonight—"

"Wait, back up." Leah held up a hand, "When's your birthday?" Leah asked. Allison bit her lip and shook her head.

"I didn't say it was my birthday."

"You said your aunt was in town for your birthday…" Leah trailed off, "So your birthday must be sometime soon…" Leah glanced away from Allison as she spun the dial on her locker. Allison chewed on her bottom lip before answering

"It's on Monday." She whispered out. Leah felt her eyes widen at the date, which Allison took that as a bad sign and let out a groan, "See? This is why I didn't want to tell anyone! Cause they always react like this."

"No, no, no it's not that." Leah shook her head and took in a breath before looking back at Allison "It's just…" Leah popped open her locker, "My birthday is on Monday too." Leah quietly said.

"What?!" Allison all about shouted.

"Can you shut up please?" Leah hissed out, " _God_." Leah shook her head as Allison grabbed her arm and shook it a bit.

"We're birthday twins!" She stage whispered.

"Yes, I'm aware! Thank you!" Leah stage whispered right back before pulling her arm back and taking out her books. Allison couldn't stop smiling at Leah as she shoved her books into her backpack.

"So Scott's coming over?" Leah asked, changing the subject.

"What?" Allison asked, looking at Leah. Leah gave her a look, "Oh, yeah, but we're just studying." Allison shook her head and looked down at the floor.

"Mmm, no you aren't." Leah closed her locker door as Allison visibly flushed. "Trust me, I've seen enough teen movies to know that you aren't studying." Leah paused, "Well, you might be…maybe anatomy." Leah made a face as she pretended to think about it. Allison smacked her arm, making Leah laugh at her.

"He's your best friend." Allison hissed out, "Shouldn't you be like against all of this?" Leah gave Allison a look.

"This is real life, Ally, not the movies where the girl best friend gets jealous of the girlfriend." Allison pulled her lips in a looked to the ground.

"Scott is…a giant puppy." Leah continued, "He's the sweetest guy ever, and won't pressure you into anything you don't want to do. So…just go with the flow." Leah said, moving her hand in a wave motion. Allison laughed at her, shaking her head in response.

"But honestly, you shouldn't be talking to me about this sort of stuff." Leah said, looking around the hallway, "Not because of Scott, but because I have like zero experience in this department," Leah spotted Lydia across the hall, "You should be talking to Lydia. She's the one with the boyfriend and the experience." Leah said, pointing to the strawberry-blonde.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but have you _had_ a boyfriend?" Allison asked, glancing at Leah.

"I made out with Danny once." Leah admitted, looking down as Allison laughed at her, "It was a dark time okay!" Leah cried out, looking back up at the ceiling and laughing, "I didn't know he was gay!"

"But that's it?" Allison asked.

"Yeah…" Leah nodded, trailing off a bit, remembering her first kiss.

She tried to never think about it; it was at one of the first parties she was dragged to by Scott and Stiles. It was when they were all in middle school. Lydia had thrown the party since her parents were letting her do pretty much anything since they were getting divorced. Leah didn't want to go, but Scott was going with Stiles and Leah barely saw Scott since he started living with his dad, so she went along with them. It was in Lydia Martin's coat closet that her first kiss took place. It was embarrassing and something she never wanted to talk about. Especially since it was with Stiles Stilinski.

"Yeah, that's it." Leah shook her head, getting herself out of the memory. Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah and Leah mimicked her facial expression, "Ally! That's it!"

"…Okay…"Allison said, seemingly unconvinced. "I'm gonna go talk to Lydia." Allison said, thumbing over her shoulder.

Leah nodded and gave her a thumbs up as Allison walked away from Leah. Leah started to walk down the hall and she turned the corner, dropping her hand and letting out a massive sigh before running into someone.

"Leah." Derek's voice breathily said, Leah stepped back, startled, but looked up at Derek, who took in a heavy breath.

"Oh-my God." Leah pressed a hand to her chest before taking in a deep breath and getting a good look at Derek, "You good?" Leah asked, "Cause you don't look…great." Leah made a face and motioned to Derek. "You look like death." She simply said.

"Where's….Scott?" Derek managed out.

"In class." Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest. Leah's eyes went around his appearance, blood was dripping from his sleeve and splattering onto the floor.

"What the fuck happened?" Leah asked out. Derek stumbled, falling into Leah, who grunted as she tried to keep him up,

"Okay, okay." Leah figured that whatever was happening wasn't good. "We need to get you out of sight."

"Scott…" Derek started.

"You're bleeding all over the school floor." Leah stopped him.

Leah leaned him against the wall and had Derek wrap an arm around her shoulder as she wrapped her other arm around his waist, trying to keep him upright. She managed to get Derek to the girls' locker room where he stumbled into the lockers, sliding down onto the floor and taking in deep breaths.

"Stay here." Leah said, pointing at him and taking a few quick steps back. She had to find Scott. Whatever had happened to Derek was supernatural and Scott was the only supernatural person Leah knew.

Leah ran out of the locker room, going back up the stairs she had just gone down, and heading to Scott's classroom; he had history last period.

"Leah!" Leah heard Jackson shout from behind her. Leah didn't stop, shoving through a group of freshmen. "Kane!" Jackson sounded like he was running. "Leah!" Leah whirled around.

"What!?" Leah cried out, "I'm on a mission here, Jackass. Don't have time to trade war stories."

"Well, tell Scott that his drug dealer assaulted me on school property." Jackson hissed out.

"I'm not his lackey. Tell him yourself." Leah snapped out, whirling around. Jackson grabbed her arm and Leah whirled back around on instinct, smacking him across the face.

"Don't touch me." Leah hissed out. Jackson stared at her, jaw clicking.

"I don't know what he's on, but I'm gonna find out." Jackson lowly said before stepping back and walking away from Leah. Leah watched him go down the hall as the bell rang, making her jump.

"Damnit." Leah cursed as kids started spilling out of the classrooms, engulfing Leah. Leah pushed through the crowd, trying to get back to the locker room.

"Derek?" Leah called out, "Derek!" The locker room was empty. "Fuck!" Leah cried out, running out of the locker room and back down the hall, trying to get outside.

Scott was by the bike rack as Leah got to him, "Scott!" Leah called out, getting him to look up at her, eyebrows knitting in confusion. Then Leah heard a screech of tires as someone in the parking lot stopped suddenly. Leah looked over to see Derek standing in the middle of the parking lot, hand up, stopping Stiles' Jeep.

"Oh no." Leah whispered as Derek promptly collapsed onto the ground. Scott took in a sharp breath and quickly discarded his bike, running into the parking lot and to the Jeep. Leah followed, hurrying over to Derek as Scott went to Stiles.

"I thought I told you to stay in the locker room." Leah hissed out as she helped Derek into a sitting position. Derek just glared at her.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked.

"I was shot." Derek managed out as Stiles clambered out of his Jeep, coming over to the three of them.

"He's not looking so good, dude." Stiles stated the obvious.

"Oh really? I think he looks great for just being shot." Leah sarcastically said back. Stiles gave Leah a look.

"Why aren't you healing?" Scott asked

"I can't." Derek let out a breath, "It was—it was a different kind of bullet."

"A silver bullet?" Stiles and Leah asked at the same time.

"No, you idiots." Derek growled out. Leah dropped her chin to her chest, making a face.

"Wait, wait. That's what she meant when she said you had forty eight hours." Scott realized. "Remember?" He asked, looking to Leah.

"What? Who?" Derek asked, looking from Scott to Leah.

"The one who shot you." Leah said, motioning with her hand. "You were on the wrong side of a bullet." People were starting to beep at them. Leah stood up and threw her hand up in the air.

"Beeping isn't gonna make us go any faster, assholes!" Leah yelled out to the ever growing line of cars.

Jackson got out of his Porsche and Allison was standing beside her car, looking at them. Leah glanced around and spotted Connor getting out of his car. He looked both ways before hurrying over to the three of them

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Leah asked as Connor got to them. Connor glanced at his sister before looking down at Derek.

Derek's eyes flashed a bright blue and Connor dropped to his knees, tugging up Derek's sleeve to expose the bullet wound. It was pulsing and black spider veins had started to make their way down Derek's arm, growing from the bullet wound.

"What the hell, Derek?" Connor asked, looking up at Derek.

"I was tracking the Alpha." Derek managed out.

"Yeah, looks like the Argents were too." Connor sighed, tugging Derek's sleeve back down, "Get him in the Jeep." Connor instructed, looking at Scott.

Scott nodded and helped Derek to his feet. Leah looked in between her brother and the scene, not really knowing how or why her brother was here or seemed to know what to do. Stiles gaped at the two of them before rolling his head back and silently agreeing. Leah smirked at him as Scott put Derek in the passenger seat of the Jeep. Stiles climbed into the driver's side. Leah stood next to Connor as Derek leaned out the window, talking to both Scott and Connor.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used." Derek breathed out.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Scott asked back, completely bewildered.

"'Cause she's an Argent." Derek hissed out, "She's with them."

"Why should I help you?" Scott asked.

"Because you need me." Derek truthfully said. Leah looked to Scott and shrugged, it was true. Scott needed Derek. He was the only other werewolf in Beacon Hills—that they were aware of.

"Fine. I'll try." Scott agreed.

"What am I supposed to do with him?" Stiles asked, leaning forward.

"Keep out of sight, but keep an eye on him." Connor instructed, "I'll look into cures." Stiles gaped at Connor before looking to Leah.

"You coming?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Fuck no." Leah crossed her arms over her chest,

"Why not?" Stiles asked, making his eyes wider.

"Because I do _not_ want to be stuck in a car with a dying werewolf and you until Scotty finds a magic bullet."

"Cute." Stiles said, jutting his chin up at Leah, "Trust me, you aren't too great to look at either."

"Didn't want you looking at me anyway." Leah said, eyes wide and moving her head a bit.

"Just get him out of here." Connor instructed, quickly tiring of Stiles and Leah's banter.

"I hate you so much for this." Stiles said through gritted teeth before driving away. The line of cars started to drive past Leah, Connor and Scott. Some of them flipped them off while others just gave them a dirty look.

"Scott, text me if you need anything." Connor said to Scott, getting ready to leave. Scott nodded as Allison came up to the three of them. Connor took a step back, looking in between Scott and Allison.

"Hey." Allison said as she came up to the three of them, "What was he doing here?"

"Stiles was just, um, giving him a ride." Scott managed to come up with a lie. Leah crossed her arms over her chest as he glanced to Leah, "Uh, long story."

"But I thought you said you weren't friends with him." Allison said, brow furrowing a bit.

"No, not really." Scott quickly changed the subject, "Um, we're still studying together, right? So I'll meet you back at your place?"

"Yeah." Allison still seemed doubtful. Scott kissed her cheek.

"Okay, bye." He hurried off to the bike rack. Allison let out a little laugh before looking at Leah, "Is everything okay?" She asked.

"I think he's just excited." Leah shrugged, making a face. Allison rolled her eyes at Leah before looking at Connor, "Oh, sorry, this is my brother." Leah thumbed to Connor, who reached out to shake Allison's hand. "Connor, this is Allison Argent." She introduced them and Connor's brow furrowed at Allison's last name.

"Argent?" Connor asked, "Do you know a Kate Argent?" Connor asked as he let go of Allison's hand.

"Uh, yeah, she's my aunt, actually." Allison laughed a bit, "Do you know her?"

"We went to high school together for a bit. She was a senior when I was a sophomore." Connor explained, swallowing a bit. Allison raised her eyebrows and looked kind of surprised.

"Oh, wow! Uhm, actually, she's in town for a bit so maybe you two can catch up!" Allison offered.

"Yeah, maybe!" Connor's voice went up a bit as he nodded too many times. "Well," He swallowed, hands on his hips as he looked to Leah, "We should go, right?"

"Let's." Leah nodded, wanting to talk to Connor about how the hell he knew what was going on and who the hell Kate was.

"Allison, it was nice meeting you." Connor motioned to Allison, who nodded and gave Leah a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Allison bid Leah goodbye before going back to her car.

" _Fuck_ ," Connor whispered to himself, watching Allison duck into her car. Leah looked up at him to see her brother chewing on his bottom lip, looking nervous.

* * *

 **A/N: Give me all of your thoughts!**


	12. NBM

"You wanna explain what _the_ _fuck_ that was all about?" Leah asked she dropped her bags in the front foyer. Connor had walked ahead of Leah, going into the living room to grab his computer and sit down on the couch.

"Hello?" Leah tilted her head at Connor. She walked around the couch and stood in front of him, "Connor." She crossed her arms over her chest as Connor looked up at her.

"What?"

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. Connor took in a breath and closed his laptop.

"I know." He simply said, opening his hands and then closing them, "I know about Scott."

"What about Scott?" Leah asked, trying not to expose herself.

"About how he's a werewolf." Connor continued, "I've known for a while now." Leah made a face and pulled her shoulders up,

"How—He's—Scott's not a—" Leah sputtered out, "That's ridiculous." Leah looked back at Connor who's eyebrows were raised. Leah sighed and let her shoulders drop, "Yeah, okay." Leah waved her hand around, giving up, "But how did you find out?"

"When you called me the day after you guys found the dead body in the woods." Connor shrugged, "I called Derek about Scott and asked him if he knew anything." Connor explained, "Then when you said the bite healed…I told Derek to keep an eye on Scott while I figured out how to get home." Leah opened her mouth slightly before turning her head to the side.

"I can't believe." She said quietly, "You knew and you didn't help."

"Leah, I've been through this before." Connor slid his laptop off of his lap, "There's no right way to help a new werewolf. You just have to navigate through it. Plus, I wasn't going to be much help from across the country."

"And what about you and Derek?" Leah asked, looking back at her brother.

"Like I said, we were friends in high school." Connor raised his eyebrows.

"Seems weird that I don't remember him." Leah screwed her mouth to the side. Connor shrugged, not wanting to delve into the past too much.

"You were young." Connor responded. There was a brief pause before Connor spoke again, "Now, can I get back to looking up cures for Derek?" He asked.

Leah nodded and walked out of the living room, heading upstairs. She passed by her bedroom door and went to Connor's. Slowly pushing the door open, Leah stepped into Connor's bedroom and looked around, leaving the door open.

She went to his desk, looking at the bookshelf above it, eyes scanning the lacrosse pictures, ribbons and awards from high school. Leah looked up to the shelf above it and spotted Connor's yearbook from when he was a sophomore. She reached up on her tip toes to grab it, pulling it down from the shelf. Leah stuck it under her arm before going into the bottom drawer of Connor's desk, grabbing the handle of Jager and her weed that she had stored there earlier in the semester. She didn't need Connor finding it and taking it for himself.

Leah shut Connor's bedroom door behind her and walked back into her bedroom. She hid the handle and weed in her underwear drawer before she went over to her bed, ready to flip through the yearbook, only to stop when there was a knock at the door.

"Hi, hon." Tara stuck her head into Leah's bedroom, "Do you wanna come grocery shopping with me?"

Leah screwed her mouth shut and considered her mom's offer. She really didn't need to do anything except wait for Scott or Stiles to call about Derek. And she could look through the yearbook later on in the evening. So Leah nodded, placing the yearbook on her bed and swinging her legs over the bed to go over to her bedroom door.

"Connor, you need anything specific from the store?" Tara asked as she and Leah got to the foyer.

"I'm good." Connor raised his eyebrows at his mom before looking at Leah, "I'll text you if I think of anything." Leah nodded and gave him a thumbs up before following her mom out to her car.

Tara and Leah made their way through the grocery store, picking up various items. Leah tossed a few things for herself in the cart, but her mom stopped her when Leah picked up a box of fruit snacks.

"You are not getting those." Tara laughed as Leah turned.

"But they're dinosaur shaped!" Leah protested.

"You are almost seventeen years old, Leah." Tara fixed Leah with a look as she took the fruit snacks out of Leah's hands, placing it back on the shelf.

"Can't I just be a child for a little longer?" Leah pleaded, clasping her hands in front of her face. Tara shook her head at Leah and continued down the aisle,

"Speaking of your age…" Tara started, "What do you want for your birthday?"

"Fruit snacks." Leah simply said with a shrug. "Just off the top of my head."

"I meant to eat." Tara said with a laugh as she pushed the cart forward. "I was thinking we could invite the Stilinskis over."

"No." Leah shook her head, immediately cutting her mom off. Tara glanced at her,

"Why not?" Leah shrugged at her mom's question and made a face as she reached for the Cheez-Its.

"Just don't." Leah said, throwing the box in and then pulling out her phone to see if she had any missed messages.

"Deputy Kane…hi." Leah heard someone, a male voice, say. Leah looked up to see Mr. Argent standing behind a cart, smiling at her mom.

"Chris, hi, and please, you know you can call me Tara." Tara easily said back. Mr. Argent nodded and looked over at Leah with a smile, "This is my daughter." Tara put a hand on Leah's shoulder, getting another nod from Mr. Argent.

"We've met." Mr. Argent gave Leah a small wave, "Your daughter's an excellent lacrosse player." Mr. Argent commented, getting a smile from Tara.

"That's always nice to hear, thank you." Tara responded, looking at Leah. Leah gave her mom a smile and looked back to Mr. Argent,

"Uh, the shipment the station ordered should be arriving in a few days." Mr. Argent continued, "Sorry about the delay. We're still trying to get all of the product over here."

"That's fine." Tara motioned with her hand, "We have enough guns and bullets in stock for now." Leah looked in between her mom and Mr. Argent before speaking up,

"Mr. Argent, do you guys make or sell custom bullets?" Leah asked, "Like you know ones that could like _really_ hurt or ones that could stick in someone's system?" Leah tilted her head to the side. Mr. Argent gave Leah an amused smile.

"We do have some custom designs. Nothing as serious as that, more like color and shape." His gaze flicked from Leah to Tara, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious." Leah shrugged. She looked up to her mom to see her mom's eyes were wide. Tara looked kind of freaked out at her daughter, not understanding why Leah would even think to ask that sort of question.

"Chris, should we get the dinosaur shaped fruit snacks or the smiley face ones?" A voice said from behind Leah and Tara. Leah looked over her shoulder to see a woman in her early thirties, walking towards them.

"I'll just get both." She said, making a face and throwing them into Mr. Argent's cart.

"Kate, this is Deputy Kane. She works for the department." Mr. Argent introduced Tara to the woman, Kate, "And this is her daughter, Leah." Kate gave Leah a once over before she gave Leah a big, charming smile, "This is my sister, Kate." Mr. Argent continued the introductions. Leah pulled the corners of her mouth down and tilted her head at Kate.

"It's nice to meet you two." Kate responded, smile still on her face.

"Kate, right?" Leah asked and Kate nodded, hand on her hip, the other on the cart, "I think you knew my brother." She said, pointing at Kate, "Connor Kane?" Kate raised her eyebrows up at the name,

"Oh wow." Kate made a face and tilted her head to the side, "You know what, I think I went to high school with a Connor Kane. He was a few years below me." Kate grinned at Leah, "Tell him I say hi, okay?" Kate reached out to Leah, smile still on her face. Leah rolled her lips in and nodded, glancing up at her mom,

"We should probably go get that ice cream." Leah said, seeing how her mom's eyes were narrowing slightly at Kate. Realizing that Leah had said something, Tara blinked and nodded, looking down at Leah,

"Yeah, sounds good." Tara nodded, "Chris, I will see you later this week." Tara bid goodbye to Mr. Argent, maneuvering the cart so she could go around the Argents.

"Bye." Leah gave a small wave to Mr. Argent and to Kate, who gave Leah a charming smile. Leah hurried down the aisle to catch up with her mom, the two of them turning the corner before Leah spoke, "Mom, what the fuck?"

"Stop fucking cursing." Tara immediately responded out of habit before taking in a breath, "I was never a fan of that Kate girl." Tara shook her head, releasing her grip on the shopping cart, "She was _not_ a good influence on Derek." Leah's brow furrowed at what her mom said but Tara took in a breath and gave Leah a warm smile,

"What kind of ice cream do you want?" Tara asked.

The two of them finished grocery shopping and returned home as the sun was setting. Leah pushed open the front door and carried two bags to the kitchen as her mom yelled for Connor,

"Connor! Help with the groceries!" Tara yelled into the house as Leah passed by her brother. Connor was still in the living room, but it had seemed the amount of papers had grown, scattered around him.

"Be right there!" Connor said before getting up and stepping over books and papers. He jogged out to help his mom with the rest of the groceries.

Leah went into the kitchen, unloading the groceries from the bag. She put away the milk and eggs before shoving some of the snack foods into the cabinet. Then she went back into the living room, settling herself in the clearest spot on the floor. She started thumbing through some of Connor's work before Connor caught her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, snatching the paper out of Leah's hand. Leah looked up at him as he sat down on the couch, papers crinkling under him.

"Seeing what you're working on." Leah said, "Any cures?" Leah asked, reaching out to pick up one of the pictures from the floor.

"He needs the bullet." Connor sighed, "I'm pretty sure it's what's _in_ the bullet that's making him so sick. I just got off the phone with Scott so hopefully he finds a way to get it."

"Great." Leah sighed, looking down at the picture in her hand. It was a scene from the attack on the bus, "What's the rest of this stuff?" Leah asked

"Research." He said. Leah stared at him and he glanced at Leah before doing a double take and sighing, "I'm just trying to figure out any potential reasons into why the Alpha killed the bus driver…" Connor started, "The police think it was a mountain lion, but you and I both know that isn't true." Leah nodded, "And do you know how many animal attacks have happened in the past few months that were deemed as a mountain lion attack?"

"A lot?" Connor nodded and Leah let out a sigh, "Weird."

"It makes the most sense to them and to the public." Connor shrugged as he gathered up some of his papers. Leah's phone buzzed, making her jump a little. She looked down to see Stiles' name appear on the screen and she hit ignore, putting her phone down on the coffee table.

"What about Laura?" Leah asked, sitting back on her hands.

"I have no idea." Connor sighed out, "It was either hunters or the Alpha who bit Scott." Connor glanced at the picture of Laura, dead in the grave Leah and the boys had found her in.

"We saw Kate Argent at the grocery store." Leah said, getting Connor's attention, "She seemed to remember you." Connor's features hardened and he took in a breath,

"What did you say?"

"I just mentioned your name. Like you did with Allison."

"Great." Connor let out the breath he was holding with a huff, "Fucking bitch." Connor mumbled. Leah made a face, offended, until Connor corrected himself, "Her, not you."

"Right, okay, well, that seems like a story for another day." Leah sighed, pushing up into a standing position and grabbing her phone. "I have homework." Leah walked past Connor and started for the stairs to her room. She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, going up the stairs.

Her phone buzzed with another call from Stiles, which she ignored and went into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Leah dropped her backpack by her bed and climbed onto her bed, reaching for the yearbook.

Leah flipped open to a random page, flipping through the pages until she spotted a picture of younger versions of Connor and Derek. There was a girl standing in between the two of them, who Leah didn't recognize. Glancing at the caption, Leah read it to herself _Derek Hale, Paige Krasikeva and Connor Kane._ Leah glanced up to see that the picture was in the _In Memory Of_ section of the yearbook. Connor was still alive, as was Derek, which meant Paige was the girl they were remembering.

Taking in a small breath, Leah continued to turn the pages, landing on the class picture pages. She looked for Connor's picture before looking up for Derek. After finding both of them, Leah flipped toward the senior's section and quickly found a young Kate Argent. Leah went towards the back of the yearbook and found a picture of Derek and Kate and a few other students at some sort of picnic thing. Leah stared at the picture for a moment, looking at how Derek and Kate stood so close to each other with their arms wrapped around each other. They looked like they were in love.

"Hey, kiddo." Drew's voice made Leah look up from the yearbook, seeing that her dad was leaning against the doorframe.

"Dad, hi." Leah said, brow furrowing as she closed the yearbook; her dad was supposed to be working all night, "What are you doing here?"

"I am on break." Drew said, crossing his arms, "So I came home for dinner instead of eating the cafeteria food."

"Why do I feel like there's some other motive?" Leah waved a hand in the air, "Something about my birthday."

"I just want to know when you want to do dinner." Drew shrugged, "Does Saturday work?"

"I'm working."

"Sunday?"

"You both are working." Leah reminded him, "All day."

"Then Monday." Drew nodded, "Actual birthday dinner on your birthday."

"No, Dad, I don't wanna do a big thing." Leah shook her head, "I'm fine with like breakfast for dinner and it just being a quick thing."

"Well, your mom is already planning on inviting the Sheriff and Stiles."

"Why?" Leah deadpanned, dropping her chin to her chest, "Why would she do that?"

"I was going to invite Mrs. McCall and Scott." Her dad offered, "Maybe that'll make up for it?" Leah scratched her temple,

"Yeah, whatever." She waved her hand in the air, "It's not like it's _my_ birthday or anything." Leah grumbled as she tossed the yearbook off of her lap.

"Everything will be fine." Drew assured her, "Don't worry." He knocked on the doorframe, "Dinner'll be ready soon." Leah didn't say anything back.

Drew left Leah in her bedroom, letting her go over to her desk to start her homework. She found herself getting distracted; she kept thinking about Connor and how he knew what was going on. Even though she understood Connor's motives, Leah was sort of angry at him for not telling her about the werewolf population of Beacon Hills because anything could've helped them figure out what was happening to Scott. But, she figured, now that Connor was involved, he would actually be a help, especially now that they had to deal with the Alpha.

Stiles called again a few minutes after the sun set and Leah was finishing up her homework. Leah stared at the phone for a minute before sighing and picking it up, hitting the green answer button.

"Is he dead?" Leah asked into the phone.

 _"About to be. Close to. Probably will be in a few hours."_ Stiles' voice came over the phone, _"Where have you been?"_

"Home, grocery store, back home," Leah started, closing her books, "And now dinner."

 _"Well, I need your help."_ Stiles stopped when he said the four letter word. Leah couldn't help the smile spreading across her face.

"You need my help." She stated, "What happened to the _you're not useful_. Or the _you bring nothing to the table_." Leah was gloating, obviously.

" _Barbie, shut up._ " Stiles said, _"You can gloat about this all you want after you actually help me."_

"I'm gonna need something in return." Leah said, "Plus, I'm marking this day down forever. I will forever remember this day." Leah said, laughing a bit as she got out of her desk chair.

 _"And you won't let me forget it."_ Stiles grumbled.

"Exactly." Leah let out a sigh, "Anyway, you need my help?"

 _"Scott still hasn't found the bullet. I have no idea where to go and I'm just sitting on the side of the road with a dying werewolf."_

"Uh, take him to his house?" Leah asked out, brow furrowing.

 _"Already suggested that. He shot me down."_

"Your house?"

 _"Are you insane?!"_ Stiles cried out.

"Right, stupid suggestion." Leah rubbed her hand against her forehead. Her door swung open, making Leah turn around.

"Dinner." Connor said. Leah nodded and held up a finger, turning away from Connor.

"Stiles, I gotta go. You'll figure something out." Leah let out a sigh, "You always do."

 _"Wait—!"_ Leah ended the call and turned around to Connor. Connor smirked at her as Leah walked up to him,

" _You'll figure something out. You always do._ " Connor mimicked in a lovey dovey voice

"That's not how I sound at all." Leah said, walking by him.

"You liiiiikkkeeee him." Connor sang out as he followed his sister down the stairs.

"No, I don't." Leah shook her head. "He was just calling me about Derek."

"Oh." Connor pulled his chin to his chest, "How's it going?"

"Not well, apparently." Leah sighed as she walked into the kitchen.

She grabbed the placemats, setting them down on the table as Connor followed with silverware. Tara and Drew were in the kitchen, getting the last of dinner ready. Leah set out glasses as Connor put out plates. Tara set out the sides in the center of the table, along with a salad bowl, and then Drew put the chicken on the table, Connor and Leah sitting down next to each other.

They talked as they ate; about school, Connor's grad school research, Tara and Drew's work—what they could tell the kids. It had been awhile since all four of them were at the same table for dinner.

"See?" Leah asked as she scooped up some potatoes, "This is what I want for my birthday. Just the four of us."

"Don't forget the baby." Connor pointed to Tara's belly. Tara pointed two fingers at her stomach as well, grinning at the table,

"Five of us." Leah corrected herself as her mom smiled at her.

"I can cancel on the Stilinskis and the McCalls." Tara said, nodding at Leah, "If that's what you want." Leah took in a breath and looked at her plate before glancing back up.

"It's fine. I don't really mind." She said with a shrug. Leah saw her mom's face break out into a smile and she looked to her dad, who winked at Leah.

"Anyway!" Leah said, changing the subject, "How's the hunt for the mountain lion coming?" Leah asked, making Tara laugh.

"No, no I'm not telling you any of that." Tara pointed at Leah with her fork, "Strictly confidential."

Leah made a face as Connor opened his mouth, talking about something or other. The conversation went back to normal as Drew started to tell a story about what happened at the hospital, making the table laugh. Leah looked around the table, seeing her mom and dad holding hands, Tara was laughing as Drew animatedly talked. She glanced to Connor, who lifted his water glass to his lips as he laughed, looking at Leah. She stabbed at her chicken, relishing the moment of family normalcy she was having.

Her phone buzzed against her thigh, making her jump a bit. Leah laughed at herself before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She saw Stiles' name on the screen and then glanced up at the table.

"No phones at the table." Tara reminded her, pointing at the phone with her fork.

"Right, yeah." Leah nodded to herself before hitting the ignore button.

"Who was it?" Drew asked.

"Just Stiles." Leah made a face and waved her hand around.

"You seem to be hanging out with Stiles a lot lately." Tara said, "Is there something—"

" _No_." Leah cut her off, shaking her head, "God, no. We're just…Chemistry partners." Leah lied, making a face, "And Stiles is practically inept with all things…Chemistry." Leah tired to control her facial expressions as she fed her parents an extremely bad lie. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Connor making a face, pulling down the corners of his mouth as he listened to Leah lie.

"Your mom and I were Chemistry partners..." Drew said, believing what Leah was saying, with a raise of his eyebrows, "Late night study sessions…"

"Oh my God!" Leah cried out as Connor cringed.

"Well, my appetite is shot." Connor sat back in his chair.

"I didn't say we _did_ anything." Drew said with a knowing grin.

"Get your minds out of the gutter." Tara tossed her napkin at Leah. Leah batted it away and then shivered.

"And on that note," Connor pushed out of his chair, "I'm about finished."

"Yeah, same." Leah said, picking up her plate and making a face at her parents, " _Disgusting_." Drew laughed at Leah, leaning over to kiss Tara. Leah made a face and walked by them, back into the kitchen.

Leah dumped her plate in the sink, turning around and surveying the counter. Her fingers tapped against the counter that her back was against. Then Leah stepped forward, going into a crouch and into the bottom cabinets to get out what she needed.

She started to make brownies, mixing all the ingredients together. It got her mind off of Derek and Stiles and Scott and her birthday and everything. She was completely in her own world as she mixed up the batter, pouring in the water and the oil.

Leah's phone buzzed, making her jump. She reached over and grabbed it, answering it without looking and shoving it in between her shoulder and her ear.

"Hello?" Leah asked as she moved her wrist in a circular motion to mix all the ingredients up.

 _"Was not expecting the calm greeting."_ Stiles' voice came over. Leah sighed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead as she slumped down.

"What do you want, Coleslaw? I'm in the middle of something."

 _"Can you get to the animal clinic?"_ He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Uhm, I don't know, I can try." Leah swallowed.

" _Great, see you soon._ " Stiles hung up on Leah. Leah dropped her phone on the counter and sighed, turning back to the bowl of brownie mix. She lifted the bowl and poured it into a pan as the oven beeped.

She stared at the brownie mix before pushing back from the counter and letting out a frustrated groan. Then Leah went back to the counter, angrily throwing the spoon into the bowl and turning to drop it in the sink. She turned on the water, letting it fill the bowl as she put the brownies into the oven, setting the timer. Leah continued to clean up her mess as Tara came into the kitchen.

"Whatcha making?" She asked, resting her arms on the counter.

"Brownies." Leah grumbled out, wiping her hands together.

"Ah, so it's a boy." Tara knew Leah like the back of her hand, "Or specifically, _Stiles_." Leah gave her mom a pointed look before shaking her head; she hated how she had become so predictable.

"He just wants me to come over to help with this project and I told him I didn't think I could because of the curfew—"

"Go." Tara cut Leah off.

"What?" Leah asked, brow furrowing.

" _Go_." Tara repeated herself, "As long as you're at Stiles'."

"I will be." Leah lied, getting a nod from her mom,

"I'll finish up the brownies. You go." Leah gave her mom a small smile.

"Thanks." Leah said, walking around the counter and giving her mom a hug, "Love you."

"Love you too." Tara murmured before letting go. "Now, get out of here." Leah laughed and walked out of the kitchen. Connor was on the couch and he looked over at Leah as she passed,

"Text me if you need me." Connor told her, getting a nod from Leah before she went out the front door.

Leah got to the animal clinic a few minutes later to find Derek slumped against bags of dog food and Stiles standing above him. Stiles turned at the sound of Leah's skateboard and he relaxed slightly.

"Oh thank God." Stiles sighed out.

"You still look like death. Like even worse than death. Like if death was dying." Leah stated, staring at Derek as she stepped off her board. His arm was pulsating and he was all sweaty and pale. Derek gave her an unamused look.

"What now?" Leah asked, looking to Stiles,

"Scott told me to get him to the animal clinic and that he would be here soon. He has the bullet." Stiles showed her his phone where a text from Scott was displayed.

"Northern blue monkshood?" Leah read out loud.

"Type of wolfsbane." Stiles said, shoving the phone back into his pocket.

"Wolfsbane seems the source of a lot of problems lately." Leah sighed.

"Come on, help me get him inside."

"Oh, this was the help you needed from me?" Leah asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just do it." Stiles grunted as he tried to lift Derek up by himself.

"You know I carried him all by myself earlier." Leah said as she went over to help lift Derek up from the other side.

"Great for you." Stiles groaned, as Leah put her hand on Derek's abdomen, and her arm around his back.

Once they got Derek into the examination room, Derek stumbled forward to catch himself on the table. He moved around it, going to the drawers.

"You know, that really doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night of sleep couldn't take care of." Stiles made a face as Derek shuffled through the drawers, pulling out some blue tape. Leah pulled out her phone and composed a text to Connor,

 _Northern blue monkshood?_

Connor's response was almost immediate, _NBM._ _He needs to light the powder on fire and then put it in the wound_.

"Lovely." Leah grimaced at the text as she looked up at Derek and Stiles.

She hadn't been paying attention to what Derek was saying, so she made a face when Derek turned back to them with an electric handsaw. He placed it on the table as Stiles whimpered.

"You're gonna have to cut off my arm." Derek finished, looking at Stiles. Leah gagged, turning away from boys,

"What if you bleed to death?" Stiles asked as he picked up the saw, turning it on momentarily before dropping it.

"It'll heal if it works." Derek was tying the blue tape around his bicep.

"Your _entire arm_ will grow back?" Leah asked, brow furrowing as she looked at him. Derek snapped the tape and looked at her.

"Hopefully."

"Ugh." Stiles audibly said as he picked up the saw again, "Look, I don't know if I can do this." He dropped it and leaned on the table.

"Why not?" Derek grunted out.

"Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and the blood! Especially the blood!" Stiles' voice hit an octave as Leah stuck out her tongue in disgust. She looked down at her phone, trying to focus on something else.

"You faint at the sight of blood?" Derek growled out.

"No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!" Stiles yelled back. Derek took in a breath.

"All right, fine. How about this? Either you cut off my arm, or I'm gonna cut off your head." He threatened.

"Okay, you know what, I'm _so_ not buying your threats any—" Stiles was cut off as Derek lunged across the table and grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him forward so Stiles was mere inches away from his face. Leah jumped at the noise, looking up to see Stiles flinching back.

"Oh, my God." Stiles squeaked out, "Okay. All right, bought, sold. Totally. I'll do it. I'll do it." Stiles agreed. Leah laughed at him as Derek stumbled to the side.

"What-? What are you doing?" Stiles asked as Derek projectile vomited black blood all on the floor. Leah gagged a bit and turned away, trying to keep her dinner down.

"Holy God, what the hell is that?" Stiles cried out, sounding disgusted.

"It's my body…Trying to heal itself." Derek managed out. Leah turned back around, pulling up her camera on her phone and swiping to the video option.

"Well, it's not doing a very good job of it." Stiles stated the obvious. He glanced at Leah, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Filming for posterity." Leah murmured. Stiles opened his mouth to retort when Derek grabbed him again.

"Now. You gotta do it now." Stiles looked back at the saw and then back at Derek.

"Look, honestly, I don't think I can." Leah pressed the red record button and kept it trained on the two of them.

"Just do it!" Derek shouted out. Leah jumped a bit as Stiles scrambled for the saw.

"Oh, my God." He pressed the switch, letting the saw roar to life and then turned it off, making a face, "Okay, okay." Stiles pressed the blade down against Derek's skin, "Oh, my God." Leah watched the whole thing happen on the screen, cringing slightly. Stiles looked at Leah, his face pale and his eyes wide. He swallowed and looked back at Derek's arm.

"All right, here we go!" Stiles shouted out.

"Stiles!" Leah heard Scott's voice suddenly call out, "Leah!" Leah spun around, looking at where Scott's voice came from.

"Scott?" Stiles called back. Scott came running into the examination room moments later.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott asked as Stiles let go of the saw, letting out a relieved laugh. Leah let her arm drop to her side as she matched Stiles' relieved laugh.

"Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares." He laughed, looking at Leah. Leah gave him an understanding look and a nod.

"Did you get it?" Derek asked. Scott handed him a bullet. Derek took it and held it up in front of his eyes.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Scott asked.

"I'm gonna…I'm gonna—" And then Derek promptly fainted, falling to the side, the bullet falling out of his hand, rolling onto the floor. Scott dove after it.

"No. No, no, no, no." Scott said, going for it.

"Derek." Stiles went down to Derek, "Derek, come on, wake up."

"Scott, you need to get the bullet!" Leah cried out, "We need what's inside of it." Leah explained, waving her hand at Scott as he tried to reach into the grate to get the bullet.

"I can't reach it." Scott groaned as Stiles began slapping Derek's face, trying to get him to wake up.

"He's not waking up! I think he's dying." Stiles was saying as Scott let out a frustrated yell as he tried to get the bullet. "I think he's dead!" Stiles yelled out, looking up at Leah, "Would you help please!? Instead of just standing there?"

"I don't know what you want me to do, Stiles!" Leah yelled back, waving her arms around, "I don't have any skills to wake up an unconscious werewolf." Stiles mimicked her as he looked back at Derek.

"Just hold on!" Leah heard Scott yell back.

"Kiss him!" Leah offered, getting an idea, "You know? CPR!" Leah said as Stiles gave her the most disgusted look and continued to slap Derek's cheek.

"Oh! I got it! I got it!" Scott sounded relieved.

"Please don't kill me for this." Stiles whimpered as he balled his hand into a fist and then swung at Derek's face. Derek shot up as a reaction to Stiles punching him.

"Ow! God!" Stiles grimaced in pain, shaking out his hand as he rolled off of Derek.

"You didn't follow through." Leah tsked, shaking her head as Stiles glared at her. Derek slowly got to his feet, motioning at Scott.

"Give me—" Derek took the bullet from Scott as Stiles got to his feet, shaking out his hand.

Derek went back over to the examination table, uncapping the bullet with his teeth and dumping some sort of purple powder onto the metal table. Derek pulled a lighter out of his pocket, setting the powder on fire like Connor had texted Leah about. Leah was slowly beginning to realize there was a lot she didn't know about werewolf problems. The powder and fire created purple sparks, making the three teens lean back. Derek swept the powder into his free hand and then shoved it into his wound.

"Oh my God." Leah grimaced as Derek let out a groan and stumbled back, falling to the ground again.

The three of them followed him, standing above him as he writhed about. Leah watched, eyes wide as he moved around in pain. Derek lifted his hips up and actually growling, his eyes flashed blue for a moment before he stilled, the wound healing completely.

"That. Was. Awesome! Yes!" Stiles fist pumped and looked around at the rest of the group.

"That was really hot." Leah said at the same time, eyes still trained on Derek's abs. She felt Stiles elbow her and she looked over to meet his surprised look. Leah raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged as Stiles gaped at her, shaking his head slightly.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked as Derek got to his feet.

"Well, except for the agonizing pain." Derek bit out,

"I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health." Stiles laughed to himself as Derek gave him the death glare. Leah smirked to herself and shoved her hands into her back pockets.

"Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone, you got that?" Scott started, "And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad, and I'm gonna tell him everything—"

"You're gonna trust them? You think they can help you?" Derek cut Scott off.

"Well, why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than you are." Scott said, raising a hand towards Derek.

"I can show you exactly how nice they are." Derek said with a jut of his chin. He grabbed Scott's arm and pulled him away from Stiles and Leah.

The two werewolves disappeared down the hall of the clinic, leaving Leah and Stiles alone, "Okay, bye!" Leah lamely called out before she sighed and took out her phone from her pocket, seeing that it had been recording.

Leah made a face and tapped at the screen to make the recording stop. She answered Connor's text, telling him everything was okay and that Derek was okay. Then, she went over to the table where the saw still was. She picked it up and flipped the switch on.

"Wanna play a game?" Leah asked, holding the saw up to Stiles. Stiles gave her an unamused look. Leah lunged for him, making him jump about six feet in the air and let out a little scream.

"Jesus, Barbie!" Stiles had his hand on his chest, "Turn it off!"

" _Fine_." Leah said, making her eyes wide and flipping the switch, "You're no fun."

"Just rather not see any blood tonight." Stiles said as Leah went and put the saw back in the drawer that Derek took it out of. Leah closed the other cabinet doors that were opened, cleaning up the small mess they had. She stepped over the puddle of vomit, grimacing.

"I was kinda hoping that you would have to cut off his arm." Leah said, looking up at Stiles, "I mean, that'd be a story to tell."

"To who?" Stiles asked.

"…Scott." Leah blinked and shook her head, "Anyway. I'll see you around." Leah pushed off the counter and went to get her bag.

"Hey, I can drive you home." Stiles offered as Leah picked up her bag.

"Why?" Leah asked, a little thrown.

"Cause it's dark out and there's a murdering Alpha on the loose." Stiles said, scratching the back of his neck.

"So you care about me." Leah stated, popping her hip out and giving him a wry grin.

" _No_." Stiles quickly shot her down, "Your mom would just…be a wreck if anything happened to you."

"She'd kill you." Leah said with a nod, "Cause she knows I'm with you."

"I don't think she'd kill me. I'd tell her I tried my best to get you to come home with me." Stiles lifted his hand up, "And that you were being your stubborn self and didn't accept my gentlemanly offer—" Leah snorted, cutting him off.

"Oh, please." Leah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "You would make my death into all about you? _Typical_." She shifted her weight.

"You could avoid all that if you just took the ride." Stiles pointed out. Leah gave him a look before shaking her head.

"Fine." She put her hands up, giving in. "I'll take your crappy ride."

"You forgot lifesaving." Stiles pointed out as he walked past Leah. He stopped and backtracked, reaching out to Leah. She moved back, making a face.

"Uh, personal space, much?" She asked.

"You got something on your—" Stiles motioned to his temple. Leah reached up and rubbed her fingers against her temple.

"Did I get it?" She asked.

"Nope." Stiles laughed at Leah as she tried again, "Here, stop, you're not even close." He reached out again.

" _Ew_ , _no_ , I'd rather you not touch me. Just leave it. I'll take a shower tonight." Leah said, batting his hand away.

"Oh thank God." Stiles rolled his head back, "I didn't want to say anything, but you smell."

"You smell worse!" Leah shot back. She gagged, placing her hands around her throat to be dramatic as Stiles rolled his eyes and walked out of the clinic, Leah behind him.

Leah put her stuff in the hatch of Stiles' Jeep before climbing into the passenger seat. Stiles had already started the Jeep, ready to go as she got in. He shifted into first gear and started towards her house.

"Where do you think Derek took Scott?" Leah asked as Stiles drove. She felt something against her leg and reached down to pick up a shirt.

"I have no idea." Stiles answered. Leah held the shirt up, letting the light from the streetlights help her see that it was Derek's shirt from earlier in the day.

"You two getting kinky to pass the time?" Leah asked, cocking a brow.

"You're disgusting." Stiles said as Leah folded up the shirt.

"One of my many personality descriptions." Leah sighed out, "Along with pretty, funny, smart—"

"Barbie." Stiles added on, "And don't forget bitch."

"Oh, well, for you don't forget douchecanoe and major dick." Leah shot back, "Those are the top two."

Stiles barked out a laugh, "Great, I'll put that on my dating profile."

"Sure you'll get a lot of hits with those." Leah said, raising her eyebrows as she dug into her pocket for her phone.

Leah unlocked her phone, seeing that there was a video being displayed on the screen. Leah hit play and watched as Stiles held an electric saw to Derek's arm. Her brow furrowed as she dragged the bar forward, fast forwarding to a part where she heard herself shouting at Stiles to preform CPR on Derek.

"Yeah, you're gonna need to delete that." Stiles said, glancing over at her. Leah dragged the bar forward, seeing Derek on the ground, writhing about as something smoked from the wound in his arm.

"What the hell?" Leah whispered to herself.

"Yo, Barbie!" Stiles yelled at her.

Leah held up a finger before putting it against the timeline dragging it across again as she tried to figure out what had happened in the video; it was mostly of the ground with random shots of Derek, Stiles and Scott.

Her phone was abruptly pulled from her hand and she looked to Stiles, "Hey!" She cried out, "I was watching that."

"And I'm deleting it." Stiles said as he stopped at a red light. "No need for you to accidentally send this out and screw us all over."

"But I don't even remember taking it!" Leah said, shifting in her seat to look at him, "I don't remember _any_ of that happening."

"Nice try, Barbie." Stiles laughed out as he deleted the video, "You were there. Cheering me on to cut off Derek's arm."

"Stiles! I'm not fucking around!" Leah shouted at him as he proceeded with caution through the green light. He tossed the phone back at Leah, who fumbled, but caught it.

"Stiles, pull over." Leah seriously said.

"We're almost to your house." Stiles said, shaking his head.

"Why don't you believe me?" Leah asked, her torso facing him.

"Because you're a liar! And I don't trust anything you say. I haven't since we were in middle school." Stiles said, raising his shoulders up, "You were there, Leah. You saw the whole thing and wanted to record it for _posterity_." Stiles moved his head around as he turned down Leah's street.

"No, no." Leah shook her head, "I don't remember any of that. Of this!" Leah said, holding up her phone. Stiles slowed down in front of Leah's house and put the Jeep in park. He looked at her as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"Then what do you remember?" Stiles finally asked. Leah put down her phone and looked out the windshield before looking back at him.

"I—I remember eating dinner and making brownies—"

"Why were you making brownies?" Stiles brow furrowed at that factoid,

"Because I was worried about Derek and Scott finding the bullet." Leah lied easily to him. Stiles nodded.

"And then I remember helping Derek into the clinic…" Leah trailed off, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she tried to remember what came next. There was nothing. No sound, no smell, nothing. Just a gap.

"And then Derek's up and better." Leah glanced up at Stiles, blinking back the tears. "It's like I blacked out or something." Stiles had his hand over his mouth and looked away from Leah as he shook his head a bit.

"Now do you believe me?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Stiles swallowed and moved his hand over his mouth, letting it drop as he let out a sigh.

"No." He simply said, "I—I don't…"

"Fuck you." Leah snapped out, pushing out of the Jeep, "I don't need _you_ of all people to believe me. I know it's true." Leah snarkily said. She grabbed her stuff from the back hatch of the Jeep, slamming the door so hard, the Jeep shook.

Leah stomped up to the porch, pushing the front door open and dropping her things at her feet as she kicked the door closed. Leah hurried up into her room, shutting the door behind herself. She felt her lower lip tremble and covered her face with her hands as if that would stop herself from crying. Her back was against the door and she slid down it, silently crying to herself as she fell to the floor, falling onto her side and curling up into a ball. Webster came up to her, meowing softly. Leah sat up and pulled him into her lap, petting him until she calmed herself down enough.

"You believe me, right Webster?" Leah asked, looking down into Webster's blue eyes. He just meowed in response.

* * *

A/N: MY BAAAAABBBBBYYYYYYYY.


	13. DVDs Make Great Weapons

There was something about the back room of the video store that was somewhat calming to Leah. She didn't have to deal with people or the flickering light that had been giving her a migraine the whole night. She was able to just sort through the returns and listen to her music without needing to be up front to do anything since Todd was taking care of it. And it wasn't like they would get a huge rush or anything.

Leah had her giant earphones on as she stacked the horror movies next to the comedies. It was repetitive and tedious sure, but it was something Leah liked doing because it kept her mind occupied enough that she didn't have to think about other things—like her memory loss.

She wasn't even sure she was losing her memory. It could've just been the stress and excitement from the events that _supposedly_ happened, which then caused her to black out—like when someone drank too much and ended up in the bathtub wearing nothing but a teddy bear on their dick. Leah was positive she wasn't actually losing her mind; there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for it. There had to be.

So she didn't tell her parents about it. Leah went to bed that night and got up and pretended like nothing was wrong. She went through her day without making it seem like anything was off and since she faked it, she somehow made it until she had to go to work.

Soon the return bin was empty and all Leah needed to do was put the stacks away in their proper shelves. Luckily, Leah alphabetized the movies so it was going to be easier and not take as long, which meant she was going to get out of work earlier and be able to go home and sleep. So Leah quickly gathered the horror movies in her arms and shook off her earphones so they were hanging around her neck. She kicked the door open with her foot, stepping outside to the lights flickering. It used to be just one, but now mostly all of them were flickering. Leah felt her brow furrow as she heard the phone ringing.

"Todd!" Leah called out, walking down the main aisle. She was headed to where the ladder was, the lightbulb sitting on top of it, "I thought you were fixing the light, not fucking up all the—" The movies fell out of her arms as she turned to see Todd slumped against the shelf, blood running from the claw marks that were across his throat, his eyes blank and staring ahead.

Leah felt her stomach roll and she quickly turned around to throw up the Twizzlers she had been eating throughout her shift. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and grimacing at the taste of post throw up in her mouth, Leah slowly turned back around to look at her co-worker.

"What the fuck?" Leah whispered to herself before gagging again. Leah looked away from Todd, feeling her stomach twist again, but she managed not to throw up again. She glanced around to see if anyone else was in the store. But it was empty.

"Uh, okay." Leah was talking to herself as she turned back to Todd, letting her eyes rove over his face. It was obvious he wasn't breathing; his throat was slashed, "Phone. I need to call the cops." Leah said to herself, trying to keep herself calm as she looked around herself for her phone. She patted her pockets, finding her iPod instead of her phone. "Damnit." Leah looked at Todd's face, seeing the blood dripping out of his throat.

Leah gagged again as the phone had stopped ringing. Then, she realized that the phone had been ringing. Leah turned away from Todd and hurried over to the front desk. She picked up the phone as the door chime echoed throughout the store, which meant someone came in.

"Fuck." Leah whispered to herself, setting down the phone. She saw someone's leather jacketed back walking through the aisles. Leah stepped around the counter and went out to the main aisle.

"Can somebody help me find _The Notebook_?" Leah heard the voice ask. It was Jackson. "Hello?"

"Jackson!" Leah called out, getting Jackson's attention as she hurried towards him.

"I swear you're like the only person who works here." Jackson sighed, "Did you misplace _The Notebook_? It's not in its usual spot." Jackson said, hand thrusting to where the movie would usually be.

"You gotta get out of here." Leah quickly said, putting her hands up, "Something happened. And—And it's bad, like _real_ bad—"

"What?" Jackson asked, brow furrowing, "You lost a DVD?" He sarcastically asked before pushing by Leah and walking to other aisle.

"No, Jackson! You gotta call the cops or something!" Leah cried out, going after him.

"Why?" He looked at Leah from over his shoulder before looking down at where Todd was.

"That's why." Leah whispered. Jackson quickly backed up, hitting the ladder and pulling down the light, making the ceiling spark up with electricity before the lights went out in the store, leaving only the neon lights on.

"Did you do this?" Jackson asked, whirling around.

"Yeah, totally." Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes, "No, you _idiot_. I can't rip someone's throat out with my bare hands." Leah threw her arms up in the air as Jackson began hyperventilating. "Call the cops!" Leah cried out as Jackson stared down the main aisle. She followed his gaze to see a pair of glowing red eyes staring back at them before a low growl came from the red eyes.

"Shit." Leah whispered, scuttling back into one of the side aisles, hiding behind the shelves of movies. Her back was against the shelving unit and she looked across to see that Jackson was in the opposite one, where the ladder had been.

Leah squeezed her eyes shut as she took in a deep breath, trying to keep quiet. She could hear whatever the hell was in the store slowly moving down the main aisle. Leah realized she needed to get out of the store, find some help. Peering around the edge of the of the shelving unit, she saw a blur of black as the creature raced to the other side of the store, another growl coming from it. Leah pulled her head back and looked up at the ceiling as she heard the shelves on the other side of the aisle coming down. Leah wasn't a religious person, but she found herself praying to a higher deity to help her get out safe.

She dropped to her knees, quickly crawled to the other end of the aisle, and getting to her feet. She was able to see that Jackson was trapped under the shelving unit.

"Shit." Leah said again before darting for the door. But she stopped when she heard another low growl, coming from where Jackson was trapped.

Leah looked over to see the creature hovering above Jackson. Jackson squirmed underneath the shelves, trapped. Sighing, Leah figured she better save Jackson so she didn't have to see another dead body, or watch someone be ripped to shreds. She grabbed a couple of DVDs from the shelf she was standing near, already regretting her decision.

"Hey!" Leah yelled out, stepping into the main aisle.

She launched one of the DVDs in the air, aiming for the creature as its clawed hand tugged down the collar of Jackson's jacket. The DVD hit the creature in the side of the head and the head whipped over to look at Leah. She threw another DVD, hitting it directly in the forehead.

"Yeah, that's right!" Leah yelled at it, hurling another DVD, "I'm the one you want!" Leah yelled as the DVD hit the creature in the shoulder.

It looked like a wolf, but it was standing on its hind legs, making it look like a big, hulking black mass with red eyes. It roared at Leah as she threw the last DVD. The thing swatted the DVD out of the air and lunged for Leah. Leah let out a yelp as she dove to the side, rolling onto her back to watch it soared over her, smashing through the window. Leah put her arms up to cover her face as glass exploded around her.

She felt glass prick her skin, and Leah let out a cough as everything became eerily silent. Leah took in a few heaving breaths, eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling above her. The speckled drywall started to blur and Leah blinked; the same sense of familiarity that she had experienced when Scott attacked her came back in waves. The room was began to spin, and Leah squeezed her eyes shut, feeling blood dripping from her leg. Her hand cautiously went to touch the wound, feeling a sharp piece of glass sticking out from her thigh. She tried to sit up, but found that she didn't have the strength to stand up. And then the door chime went off again.

"What—the holy hell, was that?" Leah's eyes opened at the sound of Lydia's voice—it was an octave higher than it usually was. "Jackson!?" She cried out. Leah let out a groan and let her head roll to the side.

"Lydia." Leah said, voice rough. Lydia's head whipped down to see Leah on the ground and her eyes went wide, "Hey." Leah casually said, giving Lydia a tight smile, "Could you do me a favor and call my dad? I think there's a piece of glass in my leg."

Once Lydia called for an ambulance, the quiet was disrupted. Leah's dad ran into the movie store, immediately seeing Leah on the ground. He helped Leah to her feet, fretting over her as he helped Leah out to the ambulance while two other paramedics helped Jackson out from under the fallen shelf. There was a piece of glass in Leah's leg, just as she suspected. Drew lifted Leah into the ambulance and set her on the gurney before climbing into the back.

"You're being _so_ dramatic. It doesn't even hurt." Leah groaned as Drew cut away at the fabric of her jeans, "Plus these are my favorite pair of jeans."

"It doesn't hurt because of the adrenaline rushing through your body." Drew was serious, not even cracking a smile, "And I'll buy you another pair."

"Happy birthday to me." Leah said, as her dad pulled on a pair of gloves.

"I should've never let you take the job here." Drew said to himself, "This was bound to happen."

"Oh, yeah a wild animal attack at Video-Two-C." Leah sarcastically said, "I hear it happens all over the coast." Drew gave her an unamused look, "Dad, I'm fine." Leah said, looking down at him, "I'm not dead or anything."

"You're hurt. Your co-worker was mauled by a rabid animal—"

"Ow!" Leah winced as her dad pulled out the piece of glass. "Warning much?"

"Thought talking would distract you." Drew gave her an apologetic look. Leah gave him a small smile as he wrapped her leg up in gauze and then an ACE bandage. "You won't need stitches so that's good."

"Fantastic." Leah sighed out, rubbing her head and coming away with a bloody hand. Her dad looked up at moved over to her head. Leah sat up and Drew put out his hands to steady her as she swayed a bit.

"Just another little cut." Drew said, "Here." He put a gauze pad on it, pressing down gently before moving her hair back and letting Leah put it up in a ponytail. Leah watched as he pressed a butterfly bandaid onto the cut.

"Sorry." Leah whispered out, "For making you worry." She added on.

"I always worry about you." Drew said, giving her a small smile, "You're my favorite daughter."

"Ahh, I see, but not your favorite _kid_." Leah got her dad to laugh a bit.

"Well, that's still up for grabs with the baby coming and all." Drew countered, getting Leah to laugh and roll her eyes. Drew rubbed her shoulder before pulling Leah into a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay." Leah's dad mumbled before letting her go.

"Guess I have to go talk to Sheriff Stilinski, right?" Leah asked, taking in a breath. Drew nodded.

"Yeah, I'm gonna check out your friends."

"They aren't my friends." Leah automatically said as Drew pushed open the double doors of the ambulance. Drew didn't respond as he helped Leah out of the ambulance and sat her on the curb.

Jackson and Lydia were brought over to the ambulance, not getting inside as Drew started to examine Lydia for any head trauma with the little flashlight. Leah was distracted by what was going on in the store; they were covering up Todd's body with a white sheet, a gurney was sitting by the paramedics. Leah turned away as a cop car came up to the scene. She saw Stiles sitting in the passenger seat, staring up at the video store.

" _Great_." Leah groaned, tipping her head back.

"Why the hell can't I just go home? I'm _fine_." Leah heard Jackson arguing with her dad. Her dad let out an exasperated sigh and looked to the sheriff.

"I hear ya, but the Mr. Kane says you hit your head pretty hard. They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion." The sheriff started to explain.

"What part of _I'm fine_ are you having a problem grasping? Okay, I wanna go home!" Jackson was sounding like a five year. Leah started to stand up, but Drew lowered his hand at Leah, telling her to stay put.

"And I understand that." The sheriff was in control of his emotions and temper.

"No, you don't understand, which kind of blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum wage rent-a-cop like you!" Jackson shouted out, "Okay, now, I wanna go home!" Jackson was so close to stomping his foot on the ground.

Leah could tell he was just putting on an act. He had been scared shitless, and his tough boy persona fell through in the store and he was just trying to build it back up.

"Oh, whoa, is that a dead body?" Stiles' voice made Leah turn to see them bringing out Todd's sheet covered body.

"Everybody back up. Back up." The sheriff started to control the ever growing crowd.

Leah rubbed her head absentmindedly before wincing. She looked down at her shoes, seeing that there were spatters of blood on the toes, almost like someone took a paintbrush and let the red paint drip off onto her shoes.

She felt someone wrap a jacket around her shoulders and looked up to see the sheriff standing over her, a small smile on his face. "Leah."

"Hey, sheriff." Leah responded, giving him a small grin, "What brings you here?"

"Oh you know…" The sheriff sighed out as he sat down next to Leah on the curb, "Do you wanna tell me what happened in there?"

"Just another night on the job." Leah sighed. The sheriff raised his eyebrows at her, and Leah took in a breath, "I honestly have no idea." Leah truthfully sighed, staring ahead, "I came out of the back room and saw Todd…and then the animal was there. I hid and then tried to get it away from Jackson. That's when it smashed through the window and ran off." Leah said, waving her hand in the air.

"What kind of animal do you think it was?" The sheriff asked Leah. She looked at him, Connor's voice echoing in her head about the number of animal attacks and how each one was determined a mountain lion attack.

"Leah?" The sheriff asked, moving his head a bit.

"A mountain lion." Leah whispered, raising her eyebrows a bit, "It was a mountain lion." The sheriff's brow furrowed as he looked at Leah.

"A mountain lion." He repeated back. Leah nodded.

"Mhm." She said, eyebrows still raised, "A mountain lion." The sheriff stared at her for a moment more before sighing and looking away.

"Alright. I'll put it on the report." The sheriff nodded as he got to his feet, "You okay, kiddo?" He asked, looking down at her.

"More scared than hurt. DVDs make great weapons." Leah truthfully answered, giving him a smile. "And I think I threw up in there too, so, don't—don't worry about that." The sheriff gave her a small laugh, "Thanks."

"Always, kiddo." The sheriff nodded at her and walked away to go to talk to Leah's dad.

"Mountain lion, eh?" Stiles asked, sitting down next to Leah. Leah groaned and looked away from him.

"Smooth move there with the pointing out the dead body." Leah said, motioning to the ambulance that they had rolled the body into.

"Extremely long insult." Stiles pointed out. "Not your best." Leah rolled her eyes and looked over to see that Stiles was holding a cup of fries in one hand and a soda cup in the other.

"Why are you here?" Leah asked, squinting at him.

"I was having dinner with my dad." Stiles raised his hands in the air, "And then your crap interrupted my life, per usual." Leah rolled his eyes at him,

"Wow, so sorry that I almost _died_." Leah scoffed out. Stiles swallowed and looked down at his fries, "You should go check on Lydia. You know? Be her knight in shining armor and tell her your name."

"Yeah…" Stiles sighed out, "Yeah, I should." He glanced at Leah, eyes darting up to the butterfly bandage on her head, "You're okay, though, right?" Leah raised her eyebrows up and nodded,

"Yeah…and I told your dad it was a mountain lion, so…"

"But it wasn't, was it?" Stiles asked.

"No." Leah took in a breath, "But I survived. The evil red-eye werewolf beast thing decided I just wasn't worth it." Leah pulled her shoulders up and Stiles raised his eyebrows. "It missed me." Leah explained.

"It _missed_?" Stiles asked, surprised. "A werewolf beast attacked you and _missed_."

"Yeah…" Leah's brow furrowed and Stiles let out a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing! Nothing, except I think it's pretty friggin' unbelievable that a werewolf attacked you and you barely have a scratch on you!"

"Uh, I hit my head pretty hard!" Leah pointed at her head.

"Yeah, well, maybe it'll jolt some of your _lost memories_ back." Stiles snapped back, waving his hands in the air. Leah took in a sharp breath and let her hand drop from her head.

"Wow." Leah responded, making a face. Stiles gaped at Leah, trying to backtrack, but Leah shook her head, "Fuck you, Stiles." Leah moved away from Stiles, crossing her arms and placing them on her knees.

Stiles took in a breath and shifted closer to Leah, who leaned away from him. He glanced at her for a moment before setting the cup of fries down in the space between them. Stiles got to his feet and went over to talk to his dad, eyes darting over to Lydia, who was being comforted by Jackson.

Leah's dad came over and sat down next to Leah in Stiles' recently vacated seat. He picked up the cup of fries and raised his eyebrows at Leah as she took the cup from him. Drew snaked his hand into the cup, grabbing a few fries before he started talking.

"I called Connor to come pick you up. The sheriff got your side of what happened and doesn't need you to come in for anything else. Mom knows what happened, but she's gonna be at the station with the sheriff for the rest of the night filing this report." Drew explained, "And I will be at the hospital for the rest of the night." He sighed.

"I'm fine, Dad." Leah looked up at him, eyebrows raised, "Really."

"I know, I just feel bad that we can't be there to take care of you."

"Well, I have Connor." Leah reminded him, "Let me know if you need me to do anything." She added on, glancing over her shoulder at the video store.

"Just get some rest." Her dad wrapped an arm around Leah's shoulders, pulling her close for a moment before Connor's car pulled up behind one of the squad cars. They watched Connor hop out of the driver's side and hurry over to them.

"Are you okay?" He asked, getting to Leah and looking Leah over, "Oh my God, your head...and your leg."

"Honestly not even the worst I've had." Leah said, getting to her feet. Connor let her lean on him as she took the sheriff's jacket off of her shoulders and held it in her hand.

"Oh, yes, the skateboarding incident of oh-seven." Connor nodded, "Three hours in the ER and you got twenty-seven stitches." Leah grinned at him, "And a banging scar."

"I'm a survivor, what can I say?" She grinned. Connor laughed.

"You just said it." Leah rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Straight home." Their dad instructed. Connor nodded and Leah gave him a small smile before Drew went back over to the ambulance, climbing into the back and shutting both of the doors. Connor looked down at his sister and raised his eyebrows. Leah took in a breath and walked over to where the sheriff was standing.

"Here, Sheriff Stilinski. Thank you." Leah politely said, handing the sheriff his jacket. The sheriff nodded at her, taking the jacket from her.

"Glad you're okay. Now, go home and get some rest." He instructed. He gave Leah a paternal smile as Leah nodded at her.

"I will." She agreed.

"Hey, Stiles." Connor said, getting Leah to notice Stiles standing there, but she quickly looked away to avoid eye contact.

"Ah, hi, Connor." Stiles responded. "Night, Leah."

"Mhmm." Leah said back, still not looking at Stiles, "Can we go now?" She asked Connor, looking up at her brother. Connor nodded at Leah and then looked back at the Stilinskis.

"Have a good one." Connor bid goodnight to the Stilinskis and Leah limped over to his car, opening the door for herself and getting in before Connor even got to the driver's side.

"Jeez," Connor started as he got into the car, "I knew you hated Stiles, but you were downright hostile." Connor said as he started up the car.

"Don't wanna talk about it." Leah said, shaking her head a bit.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Connor asked. Leah shook the cup of fries around, reaching in for one as she took in a breath.

"I told them it was a mountain lion." Leah replied, "But it obviously wasn't." Leah glanced up to see Connor look over to her, waiting for her to continue, "I mean, it looked like a wolf. It was big and black and hulking and had these glowing red eyes."

"It was probably the Alpha." Connor nodded, letting out a slow breath, "Wow, you're lucky you made it out alive."

"Do you think it was looking for me?" Leah asked, getting nervous, "I mean, it killed Todd, but what if it was looking for me to get to Scott." Connor did a double take.

"I have no idea. It's possible." Connor settled on, "But you were lucky tonight, Lele." Leah swallowed and nodded,

"But why Todd?" Leah quietly asked.

"He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Connor shrugged, "But don't worry, okay?" Connor reached over to pat Leah's shoulder, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Leah forced a small smile on her face and nodded as Connor let go of her shoulder.

Once the two of them got home, Leah retreated to the upstairs bathroom, stripping out of her bloody garments. She left them in a pile on the floor before gently tugging off the ACE bandage and gauze pad on her leg, wincing as the material stuck to the wound. Watching herself in the mirror, Leah picked off the butterfly bandage, tossing it in the trash car before she stepped into the shower.

The water went down the drain stained red with her blood. Leah carefully washed her hair, hearing small pieces of glass falling out onto the bathtub. She rinsed her leg wound again, carefully wiping off the blood stains with a washcloth before doing the same around her face. Leah waited until the water went down clear to turn the shower off. She wrapped herself in a towel, carefully patting the wound, wincing slightly before going into the medicine cabinet and getting another gauze pad. She re-wrapped her leg and rubbed her hand over the wound, knowing it would scar.

Sighing to herself, Leah wiped off the steamy mirror and stared at herself in the mirror. She carefully placed another band-aid against her temple, making sure it was firmly on before stepping back from the mirror.

Back in her bedroom, Leah dressed herself in a pair of sweats and an old spirit day t-shirt from freshman year. She climbed into bed, setting her phone on the nightstand before reaching out and turning off the light.

To say Leah slept through the night was a huge understatement; she spent most of the night tossing and turning, plagued by nightmares of what happened to her at the video store, some of them intertwining with flashes of a past she couldn't quite remember. The next morning, she woke up suddenly, the feeling of falling through the air making her heart jump to her throat.

The rest of the morning consisted of both of Leah's parents fretting over her. They felt guilty about going to work, she could tell, but there wasn't anything they could do. The family needed the money: Tara had to help the sheriff figure out what exactly attacked the teens at the video store while Drew was on call for the day. Connor was put on sister watch and their parents made them promise to call if anything started to hurt or bleed more than it should. Leah and Connor agreed—Leah mostly just wanting them to just leave so she could get out of bed and start moving.

After Leah heard her dad's car driving away, she threw her sheets off of herself and shoved her feet into the bloodied pair of sneakers. She grabbed her jacket, slipping it around her shoulders as she went for the door. Leah opened it only to see Connor standing on the other side.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, hands on either side of the doorway, blocking his sister.

"To the video store." Leah answered, moving to the side to try to get around him. Connor moved to the side, blocking her.

"Nice try, but no. You're not leaving this house." Connor shook his head. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.

"Yes, I am." She challenged.

"Mom and Dad said no."

"Mom and Dad aren't here, now are they?" Leah asked, making her eyes wide as she shook her head at him, "Besides, you're coming with, I need a ride."

"Oh, well, okay." Connor made a face and stepped to the side, "Yeah, I should probably go with you."

"Wow, that's a great idea." Leah responded, "Come up with that all by yourself?" She sarcastically asked before pushing by him.

Connor's footsteps followed behind her as they went down the stairs. He grabbed his keys as Leah opened up the front door.

"So what exactly do you plan to do when we get there?" Connor asked as he tapped his hands on the steering wheel, eyes on the road.

"See what's there." Leah rolled her head to the side to look at him, "It's gonna look different in the day time. Maybe we can find something."

" _We?_ " Connor asked, raising his eyebrows as he glanced at his sister for a split second before looking back at the road.

"Well, you're the one with all the knowledge about this stuff." Leah answered. Then she shifted in her seat, "Are you ever gonna tell me the full story about you and Derek?" She asked.

"We're here." Connor didn't answer her question as he pulled up in front of the video store.

Leah looked out the windshield, the neon lights were off and the store was dark. Sighing, Leah pushed out of the car, slamming the door behind herself. She shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels.

"Weird." She commented, squinting at the building.

"Haven't you been here during the day?" Connor asked.

"Well, yeah, but not after a murder." Leah said, eyes wide as she walked up to the yellow tape.

The window had been patched up, the glass cleaned up. Leah looked around herself before ducking under it. Her keys jingled in her pocket as she pulled them out. Leah unlocked the door to the video store and pulled the door open.

"Come on." She said, glancing over her shoulder at her brother, "Let's get this over with."

The video store was eerily quiet. Usually there was always some sort of noise; the hum of the neon lights, the movie playing on the television screens, something was always happening. But now, there was nothing. Leah felt like she was walking through a post apocalyptic warzone.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Connor asked as Leah walked through the fallen shelves of movies and posters.

"Anything." Leah said, going over to the fallen ladder. "Anything that can tell us anything."

The siblings spent an hour looking through the chaos that was the video store. There was still blood stains on the carpet from Todd, her puke stain had become a dark red, the glass was still on the carpet as Leah looked at the hole in the window. She looked from the window down at the ground, remembering where she had been laying. Leah took in a deep breath as she shook her head, stepping past the window, hearing the glass crunch under her feet.

"There's no security cameras or anything?" Connor asked from where he was standing behind the desk. Leah had given him her login information to look through the security footage.

"There should be." Leah answered, brow furrowing, "We installed them after someone stole all the Spider-man movies." Leah explained, heading over to the desk. She stood next to her brother and Connor flipped through the camera screens, all of them black.

"So someone ripped out the cameras." Leah stated the obvious.

"I guess whoever the Alpha is ripped the cameras out before shifting." Connor motioned to the screen. Leah swallowed and nodded,

"But he or she had to had shifted inside the store because nothing was broken before." Leah pointed out, pressing her hands on the counter.

"Did you see anyone before the attack?" Connor asked. Leah rolled her lips in and shook her head,

"No, I was in the back room for most of the night." Leah rolled back on her heels, "The only people I saw were Todd and Jackson."

"Okay, walk me through what happened." Connor stepped back from the counter, motioning to the open area, "Step by step." Leah nodded and went over to the back door.

"So I came through here." Leah started before taking a couple steps forward, "Todd was supposed to be fixing the flickering light, but when I came out, all the lights were flickering and the phone was ringing." Leah walked as she talked, Connor watching her.

"I found him here." Leah pointed to the shelving unit about in the middle of the store, "Right by the ladder, his throat slashed and all." Leah grimaced as she looked down at the blood stain in the carpet. "I threw up there." Leah pointed to the throw up stain across the main aisle, "Then Jackson came in and I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't. He knocked the ladder down and the lights went out. That's when the Alpha appeared."

"Did you see Jackson after that?" Connor asked, walking around to the front of the counter.

"Yeah, a bunch of the shelving units were knocked down and he was trapped under one of them." Leah's brow furrowed, "Why? Do—do you think he's the Alpha?" Leah's eyebrows raised.

"It's a theory." Connor shrugged as Leah let out a laugh,

"Oh my God, Jackson is _not_ the Alpha." Leah rolled her eyes, "There's _no way_." Connor raised his eyebrows at Leah, who made a face, "He's not, okay? I was trapped under her and she was growling at me and her claws were digging into my wrists, until Laura grabbed her off of me!" Leah sputtered out, motioning to the shelving unit.

"What?" Connor asked, getting Leah to look back up over to him. His brow was furrowing, "Leah, what are you talking about?"

"Jackson!" Leah yelled back, "Oh my _God!"_ She groaned, stomping her foot.

"No, no, no, you said something about Laura grabbing someone off of you?"

"What? No—No I didn't." Leah's brow furrowed at Connor, "No, I was talking about Jackson, I meant—Jackson." Leah huffed out, waving her hand to the fallen shelving unit. "Whatever, I don't know why we're even here, there's nothing that can help us." Leah turned on her toe and stomped out of the video store, pushing it open rather forcefully.

Leah stepped outside and let out a deep sigh, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for Connor to come out after her.

"Is everything okay?" Connor asked as he stepped outside.

"Yeah, it's fine." Leah rubbed her hands over her face, "I'm fine." She turned to give her brother a small smile. Connor returned the smile before looking over Leah's shoulder. Leah turned to see what he was looking at, seeing a row of buildings across the street.

"What?" Leah asked, glancing back at her brother. Connor pointed across to one of the buildings.

"See those cameras?" Connor asked, waving his hand around a little, "They're pointing right where we're standing. So they could've gotten something." He explained.

"How would we get the video?" Leah asked, turning to look at her brother. "I'm sure that the cops already have a copy or something."

"I have an idea." Connor said before walking back to the car. Leah followed him, getting into the passenger seat as he started up the car.

Back at the house, Leah watched from the doorway as her brother started to create a fake ID. He went up to his room as soon as they got home, and she followed, ignoring her buzzing phone. She left it on the stairs and hurried up to follow her brother.

"So you're just gonna make yourself a fake ID." Leah stated as Connor opened up his laptop.

"That's the plan. I'm gonna act like an agent or something." Connor waved his hand around in the air, not concerned with the details.

"Wow, you sound so confident." Leah sarcastically said, getting a look from Connor as he made up his ID.

"I'll figure out my back story. I just need to get the tape." Connor turned back to the laptop and hit print. His printer rattled as it started to shoot out the picture.

"You know, it's not that big of a deal. We can always just bribe Mom." Leah looked at her nails, seeing that there was still some dried blood underneath her nails. She picked at it as Connor walked by her.

"Well, what's the fun in that?" He asked as he went out into the hall. Leah watched him go into the bathroom and get her hairdryer. "I'm getting this tape, Leah."

"I don't need you to." Leah said with a shrug, "I'm not horribly injured or anything. I'm just curious." Connor walked back into his room, sitting back down at his desk.

"So am I." He said as he plugged in the hairdryer.

Once he created his fake ID, Connor dressed in a suit and clipped the ID to his lapel and looked at Leah. Leah made a face, giving him a thumbs up, "Impressive." she said, pushing off of the doorframe, "You could make a living off of fake IDs." Connor rolled his eyes and walked by her, heading back down the stairs.

"Stay here." He instructed, "You've been up for too long. Just rest and watch something on TV." Connor glanced at Leah from over his shoulder and tossed her her phone, "Call if you need anything. I'll be back soon." And with that parting, Connor left Leah without giving her a chance to respond.

Leah did as Connor told her to, flopping down on the couch and turning on the television for some background noise as she looked through the missed messages. There was two from Scott, one from Stiles, three from Allison and one from Lydia. Leah read Allison's messages first, seeing that they were mostly asking her what she was doing for her birthday and if she wanted to do anything later in the day. Leah texted Allison back telling her she had family plans, but she would see her on Monday. Scott and Stiles' messages were of the same gist, asking if Leah was okay. Scott's was more pleasant than Stiles'. Leah texted Scott that she was awake and he was welcome to come over with food and video games. Stiles didn't receive a text back.

And then Leah opened Lydia's message. It was just a video message with a bunch of jumbled letters to go with it. It looked like the video store so Leah opened it up, curious to see what it was.

The video started to play and Leah brought her phone closer to her face as she watched the window explode, the shattering of the glass following. Leah heard Lydia's screams in the background and the hurling black mass fly past the camera. Leah jumped at the sight, throwing her phone back from her face. Her front door suddenly opened and Leah let out a short scream as Scott burst through. Leah clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as her phone clattered to the ground.

"Jesus!" Leah yelled out, throwing a pillow at Scott as her heart calmed down. The pillow missed, falling short of Scott. Leah shoved a hand through her hair as she looked at Scott, eyes wide. Scott looked remorseful as he picked up the pillow.

"Sorry. You said I could come over…"

"I know. You just…I'm a little jumpy since last night." Leah said, pushing herself up into a sitting position as Scott came around the couch to sit next to her.

"How are you?" He asked, brow furrowing a bit. Leah gave him a small smile.

"I'm okay." Leah nodded and shoved a hand through her hair, tying it up in a ponytail, "How did you even know about last night? Did Stiles tell you?"

"I was there." Scott answered, "Uh, Derek took me."

"So you saw what happened?" Leah asked, shifting in her seat. Scott shook his head.

"No, I only saw the aftermath. I wanted to go down there, but…" Scott trailed off. Leah nodded, understanding that he would be questioned.

Leah looked to the television where the news was still reporting on animal attack at the video store. She picked up the remote and flipped the television off, setting the remote back down and looking to Scott.

"I told the sheriff that it was a mountain lion." Leah casually said, "He seemed to believe me."

"But…" Scott prompted.

"But it wasn't. At least, I don't think so and neither does Connor." Leah raised her eyebrows as Scott took in a breath.

"He told you." Scott said, "That he knows."

"Yeah." Leah nodded and then stopped, "Wait, how did you know he knew?"

"When I went to Derek's after the bus driver was killed," Scott explained, "Connor was there. He made me promise not to tell you." Leah gaped at Scott before looking away from him, "Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at _you_." Leah looked back at Scott, shaking her head, "I'm more mad at Connor for putting you in that situation." Scott gave her a small smile and reached out to pat Leah's leg. Leah winced and Scott drew his hand back, looking scared.

"It's okay." Leah waved her hand at Scott, "Just some glass." Scott's features didn't soften and Leah gave him a small smile, "Scott, I'm fine, seriously." She reached out for Scott, grabbing his hand, "The Alpha didn't hurt me."

"He could've." Scott seriously said, blinking a bit.

"But he _didn't_." Leah emphasized, "Now," Leah patted Scott's hand, "Where's that food and those video games I requested?"

Scott gave Leah a small smile before reaching into his backpack and pulling out a few Xbox games, a pack of Twizzlers and two bags of chips.

"Lifesaver." Leah groaned as she reached for the Twizzlers. Scott got off of the couch, going over to the Xbox. His back was to Leah as he inserted the game. Leah changed the channel to the HDMI as Scott grabbed the two controllers.

"Mind you, I've been practicing." Scott said, handing Leah one. Leah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"You also have superfast werewolf reflexes too." Leah pointed out. "And that's cheating. So no using them."

Leah had Scott promise that he wasn't going to be using any werewolf reflexes, to which he challenged with the fact that he wasn't sure how to completely control them, but they agreed that he would have to try. Leah started out on the couch, but during the last round, she found herself standing up, in front of the television screen, Scott right next to her. Leah elbowed him, trying to get him to mis-click his button on the controller, but he wasn't thrown off. They battled through aliens with sticky grenades and aircrafts and Scott ended up winning by one kill. He victoriously threw his hands in the air and let out a cheer.

"Not fair." Leah groaned, tipping her head back and falling back onto the couch. "You're a cheater."

"Am not!" Scott pointed at Leah, "I keep my promises." Leah stuck her tongue out at him as she exited out of the game.

"So you're coming over tomorrow night for the birthday dinner from hell." Leah casually brought up the topic of her birthday dinner. Not making it a question because Scott was coming, no matter what. He needed to come; Leah needed him to come.

"Yeah, my mom is making pasta salad." Scott said, still standing above Leah, absentmindedly playing with the controller buttons, "But parent teacher conferences are tomorrow night too—"

"Shit." Leah cursed, cutting Scott off momentarily.

"So we're gonna come after that. I have to be there for practically all of my classes." Scott complained, falling down onto the couch next to Leah.

"Wait, I thought Allison was tutoring you." Leah held up a hand. Scott opened his mouth and looked away.

"We didn't really get much done…"

" _Oooo_ okay…" Leah smirked at Scott, getting Scott to roll his eyes as her. "But seriously, are you failing?" Leah asked, becoming concerned.

She was surprised that Scott even needed Allison to tutor him; he had always been a pretty solid student. Not straight A's, but B's. He kept his grades up in hopes of ever getting on the lacrosse team and it seemed everything just started to fall apart when he was bit.

"Not really." Scott made a face. Leah gave him a look, "I'm just a little stressed."

"Yeah, well, I give you props for juggling school and werewolflivelyhood." Leah said, waving her hand around, "Plus the added bonus of your new girlfriend's famsquad being werewolf hunters." Scott gave her an unamused look.

The front door opened and Leah sat up to see that Connor was walking in. He loosened his tie and glanced over to where the two friends were sitting.

"Hey." Leah gave him a smile and Connor nodded back at her before coming over to the two of them,

"I got the tape." Connor simply said, settling down in between the two of them. He pulled his laptop closer to him and opened it up.

"The tape to what?" Scott wondered as Connor stuck in the thumb drive.

"The security footage from the building across the street." Connor explained as he opened up the file folder.

Connor fast-forwarded to the part where the Alpha jumped through the window, watching as the glass exploded and a hurling black mass came through the hole. And then in the next frame, the creature wasn't as massive, and it was on two feet. Leah and Scott leaned closer to the screen, as Connor rewound the footage and played it slow motion. The creature seemed to turn from a monster into a human, standing on two legs as it casually walked off. It _was_ the Alpha.

"Can you figure out who it is?" Leah asked, glancing to Connor.

"No, it's too grainy." Connor said, zooming in on the person's face, "But it's definitely male." Connor figured, motioning to the build.

"Any ideas?" Leah asked, looking to Scott. Scott shook his head.

"I have no clue." Scott shrugged.

"You have a connection with him, Scott." Connor stated, looking over to Scott, "You can find him."

"You're beginning to sound like Derek." Scott cast a glance to Connor, remembering the conversation he had with Derek the night before.

The sound of the front door opening startled all three of them; Connor quickly shut his laptop while Scott and Leah fell back against the couch.

"Hey, guys." Tara greeted them as she walked through the front door.

"Hey, Mom." Leah looked over at her mom as Connor got off of the couch, laptop under his arm. He kissed his mom on the cheek before heading up the stairs.

"Scott." Tara warmly greeted Scott, who waved at her, "Do you want to stay for dinner?" She asked.

"Uh," Scott glanced to Leah, who shrugged, "Sure." He accepted the offer, "Thank you."

"Good, I have excess take out." Tara lifted the bags of takeout, making the two teens get off of the couch and follow her into the kitchen.

"Is there anything specific we need to bring tomorrow?" Scott asked, referring to the birthday dinner.

"Uh, no." Tara made a face as she put the bags on the island, "I think we're good." She gave Scott a smile as she started to unpack the bags.

"Scott just reminded me that there's parent teacher conferences tomorrow night." Leah rested her elbows on the island, "So I think we should just cancel the dinner."

"We'll be back in time." Tara gave Leah a knowing smile, "Those things never last long." Leah sighed and took two of the takeout boxes, handing one to Scott.

* * *

A/N: please give me all of your questions, concerns and cries of outrage. :)


	14. Birthday Blues

Leah Kane hated her birthday. She hated everything about it and it was all thanks to Stiles. And cake. When Leah was turning twelve, her mom threw her a surprise birthday party. Everyone was there, including Stiles. Lydia and Jackson had even shown up, probably because of Danny, but that wasn't the point. Leah had come down into the basement to see that everyone was there, the room decorated with balloons and streamers. She remembers being happy for a bit, until the cake happened.

Stiles had somehow rigged the cake so that it would explode onto Leah when she blew out the candles. Everyone had finished singing to Leah and Leah had made her wish for a new skateboard when the cake promptly exploded, icing getting all over her face and body. Stiles started hysterically laughing, Scott ran to get her napkins and Leah just stood there, in complete shock. There's a video of it to never let Leah forget what happened. And every year, something exploded because of Stiles. Either in glitter or cake or something else.

So of course, on Monday morning, Leah was careful opening her locker in case there was anything about to pop out. The area was clean and she reached in to get her books only to slam her locker door and see Allison's grinning face staring at her.

"Happy birthday!" She cheered before throwing her arms around Leah.

"Ah! Shhh." Leah responded, but even Leah couldn't hide the grin on her face. "Hey, happy birthday to you too." She said as Allison rocked them from side to side in the hug before letting go.

"You didn't tell anyone right?" She asked, brow furrowing a bit. Leah shook her head.

"Nope. Your secret is still safe with me." Leah answered, crossing her fingers in an x.

Allison relaxed and grinned at Leah before lopping her arm through Leah's and taking her with her to walk down the hall. Leah noticed something banging against Allison's chest and glanced down to see a pendant attached to a long chain.

"Hey, that's nice." Leah nodded to the pendant, making Allison look down.

"Oh, yeah, my aunt gave it to me." Allison grinned at it before looking up, "Some sort of family crest thing. I don't know." Allison waved her hand in the air, "But you should come over tonight! Meet her and all."

"Ooo, I can't." Leah shook her head, "I'm having this birthday dinner…" Leah trailed off, "Which I totally forgot to invite you to." Leah made a face, glancing at Allison. "I mean, obviously you're welcome to come!" Leah hurriedly said. "Wow, sorry, I feel like a shitty friend." Leah bit her lip as Allison shook her head,

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Ally, seriously, please come." Leah gripped Allison's arm, "I do want you there, I truly just forgot." Leah was honest with Allison, who looked at her for a moment before nodding,

"Okay, yeah, I'd like that." Allison grinned at her as they got to Allison's locker.

"Good." Leah gave Allison a small smile, letting her arms drop to her sides as Allison spun her locker combination. She really did want Allison there; they were getting closer and although Leah was still wary as to why Allison wanted to be her friend, she was still going to try to be a good friend to Allison, which meant not forgetting to invite Allison to things and including her.

"Did you hear about the attack at video store?" Allison changed the subject, "I heard Lydia and Jackson were there."

"Yeah, so was I." Leah sighed, leaning against the opposite locker. Allison stopped spinning her combination and looked at Leah, shocked.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Her brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine." Leah waved her hand around in the air.

"I didn't even know—I would've come over yesterday and made sure—"

"Allison, it's fine." Leah said, putting her hand on Allison's arm, "Honestly, no major damage. You didn't even know." Leah shrugged. Allison chewed on her bottom lip before nodding and then turning back to her locker, popping it open. Balloons popped out of the space, attacking Allison. She was so surprised as she tried to shove them back into her locker. Leah's eyes went wide and she looked around the hallway to see if anyone had seen as Allison reached for the card.

" _Lydia_." She exasperatedly said. Then she turned to Leah, "How did she know?"

"Lydia knows like _everything_." Leah said, putting her hands up in her defense, "She's crazy good with that stuff."

"Is today your birthday?" Scott asked, coming up to the two girls.

"No, no." Allison started to lie. The balloons started to come out of her locker again and she tried to force them back in, "Uh, no. I mean, yes." She gave up, letting the balloons go and looking caught, "Please don't tell anybody." She whispered out, "I only told Leah cause we share a birthday and I don't even know how Lydia found out."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Scott asked, looking hurt. Leah tried to silently tell him to stop as Allison chewed on her bottom lip again.

"Because I don't want people to know." She said, looking back into her locker and then looking back at Scott, "Because I'm seventeen." She whispered out.

"You're seventeen?" Scott's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Hey! I'm seventeen!" Leah protested his look of shock.

"That's the reaction I'm trying to avoid." Allison said, glancing at Leah and then back to Scott.

"Why? I mean, I—I totally get it." Scott tried to compose himself, "Uh, you had to repeat a year because of all the moving around, right?" Allison looked at Leah and there was this small smile on her face before she turned back to Scott and kissed him.

"What was that for?" Scott asked as Allison pulled away.

"For _literally_ being the first person to ever make the correct assumption." Allison shook her head back, "Everybody's always like, _What? Did you get held back? Did you ride the short bus?_ Uh, _Did you have a baby?_ " Leah felt her brow furrow as Scott became concerned.

"That's what you hear on your birthday?" Scott asked.

"Oh, yeah." Allison nodded, "All day long." Leah leaned against the lockers again, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then…" Scott looked at Leah, "What if we got out of here?" He asked, looking back at Allison.

"Skip class?" Allison's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, the whole day." Scott said.

"Well, you're asking someone who's never skipped one class to bail out the entire day, and I don't—"

"No, see, that's perfect." Leah chimed in, getting the couple's attention, "If you get caught, then they'll go easy on you." Leah pointed out.

"Well, what if Scott gets caught?" Allison asked, looking over her shoulder at Scott. Scott and Leah shared a look before Scott blew out a breath.

"Let's try not to think about that." He said, turning Allison around and pushing her towards the door.

"Security comes around in five minutes." Leah said as he passed her. Scott nodded and went after Allison, then he stopped and ran back to his best friend.

"Happy birthday." He said, scooping Leah up into a hug. Leah hugged him tightly and then let go.

"Yeah, perfect, thanks for leaving me." Leah sarcastically said. A look of guilt flashed over Scott's face and Leah laughed, "Scott, I'm kidding! Go!" She said, lightly punching his shoulder, "I'll see you tonight."

"Right. Yeah." Scott nodded and then ran off after Allison.

"Be safe!" Leah called out after him before falling back against the lockers. She watched the two of them disappear before turning and walking into her homeroom.

Although a small part of her was annoyed for Scott skipping out on her birthday, Leah couldn't be mad at him; it was Allison's birthday too. And Leah knew Scott cared for them both, just maybe Allison a bit more, so it was obvious he was going to put Allison first at the current time. He was so in love, it made Leah sick but also happy.

Plus, Leah never made her birthday into a big thing; she hated the attention. She was the oldest in her class because Tara decided to hold her back a year in starting kindergarten so she could start with Stiles and Scott. Since the three of them were already friends because of the countless evenings spent at the station, and the mornings spent with Leah's dad and afternoons spent with Mrs. McCall and Scott, it only seemed fair that they enter school together. Leah was never asked if she had a baby or something like Allison had been asked because all of the kids knew that she was a year older since the beginning.

Jackson and Lydia weren't in any of Leah's morning classes and Jackson was still missing when Leah sat down in Chemistry. She silently cursed herself for not playing up the hurt card and getting out of school for the day, even if it was just for the Monday blues, or in Leah's case, the birthday blues. Her leg wound didn't really hurt anymore, but she limped a little when she walked, Jackson was the only one who really needed to be out, but Lydia wasn't even hurt. Well, not physically. Leah still had the video from Lydia on her phone and she was debating on what to do with it. She didn't tell Scott or Connor about it; she figured they would probably tell her to delete it and move on.

Someone's books slammed down across from Leah, making her jump and look up. Stiles gave Leah a little head nod as he sat down in Scott's usual seat.

"Jesus, Coleslaw." Leah breathed out before looking back down at her notebook, "Could you not scare me today?"

"Still not recovered from Saturday night?" He asked as he opened his textbook up.

"I'm recovered fine. It's just that you and today don't really go well together." Leah said, shifting in her seat.

"Yeah, well, I hate Mondays just as much as I hate you." Stiles grumbled as he took out his highlighter.

"Then why are you sitting across from me?" Leah asked, leaning forward.

"I always sit here." Stiles said, motioning to the seat.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you—"

"Whatever." Stiles cut her off, "I'm sitting here today."

"Fantastic." Leah dryly said, "Scott usually sits there though."

"Yeah, well, Scott's MIA. As is Allison and Lydia and Jackson." Stiles grumbled out as the second bell rang.

"Wow, you're observant." Leah sarcastically said as Stiles started to highlight the passages in his textbook.

He turned so he was sideways against the table, legs dangling off of the stool. Leah put her head in her hand and looked around to make sure there was nothing that could explode on her.

"Just a friendly reminder—" Harris started as he walked up the aisle, "Parent-teacher conferences are tonight. Students below a C average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment." Leah glanced around the room to see a couple of kids put their heads down.

She was still floating with her A in the class. Harris may not like Leah, but he couldn't deny that she knew her shit. Leah had confronted him one time about mismarking her answer when Danny had gotten the same answer that was marked as correct and Harris never mismarked Leah again, just gave her detentions and essays whenever he felt like it. Leah was impressed by the amount of effort he put into trying to make her life miserable.

"Has anyone seen Scott McCall?" Harris asked, stopping at Leah and Stiles' table. Leah scratched her temple and put her head down, pretending to be interested in chemical equations until he left. Leah lifted her head up just in time to see Jackson walk through the door.

"Hey, Jackson." Harris went up to Jackson as Jackson sat down in his seat, "If you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know." Leah made a face; of course Jackson would get special treatment for being at the video store, but no one even knew Leah was there so she didn't get anything except a lecture for being late to homeroom.

"Everyone, start reading chapter nine." Harris droned out, "Mr. Stilinski." Leah glanced over to see Stiles' head pop up from his furious highlighting.

"Try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book." Harris said. Leah grinned at Harris' comment as Stiles shot his highlighter cap out of his mouth and caught it in his hand.

"If only you could be that coordinated on the field." Leah mumbled, getting a glare from Stiles. Stiles looked away from her and leaned forward to ask Danny something.

"Hey, Danny." Stiles whispered to Danny, "Can I ask you a question?"

"No." Danny responded.

"Well, I'm going to anyway." Stiles leaned forward, "Um, did Lydia show up in your homeroom today?"

"No." Danny answered.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Answer's still no." Danny said, his back still to Stiles.

"Does anyone know what happened to her and Jackson at the video store?" Danny looked over to where Jackson was reading the chapter.

"He wouldn't tell me." Danny mumbled.

"But he's your best friend." Stiles prodded. Danny didn't answer. Stiles glanced at Leah and then sighed, "One more question."

"What?" Danny exasperatedly asked.

"Do you find me attractive?" Stiles asked, leaning forward on his stool.

He leaned too far and promptly fell off of it, getting a couple people's attentions. Leah snorted as Stiles regained his balance and set the stool back up, sitting on it.

After class ended, Stiles packed up his things and quickly left, phone to his ear. Leah watched him go as she packed up her stuff. She had to survive a lunch with him and only him, so Leah was taking her sweet time. She slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out of the classroom, merging with the people in the hall.

"Leah!" Leah heard a voice call out, making her turn. Kyle was running up to her, a giant smile on his face.

"Uh, hey, Kyle." Leah said, brow furrowing. Even though the two of them were on the lacrosse team together, they barely spoke unless it was during drills or that one time at Lydia's party.

"What's up?" Leah asked, hefting her backpack higher on her shoulder.

"It's your birthday today, right?" Kyle asked, squinting at Leah.

"…Yes…Why?" Leah asked, squinting right back at Kyle. Kyle grinned at her and slipped his backpack off of his shoulder and reached in to grab something from the backpack.

"Here." He handed her an envelope, "And I remember you don't like presents because you think Stiles always has something to do with them, like last year when he soaked all of your clothes after that game, so don't worry, he has nothing to do with it." Leah carefully took the envelope from Kyle's hand and glanced up at him, eyeing him as she slowly opened the envelope.

Leah looked down to see that there was a gift certificate for one of those shops that sells cooking appliances. Leah looked back up at Kyle, eyebrows raised.

"You made those amazing cupcakes last season for like three of the games and so I figured you could get some new baking shizz so you can make some more." Kyle tapped the gift certificate as Leah tried not to smile.

"Wow, uh, that's really sweet." Leah slipped the gift back into the envelope, "Thank you, Kyle." Leah looked up at him, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah, well, it's a gift for both of us…you get the cooking ware, I get the cupcakes." Kyle shrugged, "I think I get the better end of the deal, honestly." Leah rolled her eyes and smacked Kyle on the chest with the envelope.

"Thanks, Kyle." She said as the bell rang, "I appreciate it."

"Happy birthday." Kyle pointed at her before walking away from her. Leah rolled her eyes and slipped the envelope into her backpack.

Leah went through the lunch line, grabbing some chicken fingers and a water bottle, paying for her meal and turning to try and find an empty table. There was one by the window, so she headed over, dropping into one of the empty seats and putting her bag on another chair. She started to dig into her lunch when someone's tray was placed across from her.

"This seat taken?" Jackson's voice asked. Leah looked up to see him standing there, staring at her.

"What the fuck?" Leah asked back. She looked around, "Am I being Punk'd?" She asked as Jackson pulled out the chair, sitting down.

"No." Jackson droned out, "Lydia isn't here and Danny is studying with Rob—"

"Studying the curve of his ass." Leah mumbled out around a chicken finger. Jackson gave her a look.

"And I'd rather not eat alone." He grumbled out, "Plus Stilinski wasn't with you and neither was McCall or Allison so I figured you'd be okay with eating with me."

"In complete silence." Leah said, ripping apart a chicken finger.

"Fine by me." Jackson said, raising his hands up as he scooted forward in his chair. Leah stared at him as he looked at his food. His face was paler than usual and he didn't look as cocky as he usually did. She chewed in silence as he opened his juice.

"Are you doing okay?" Leah asked, breaking the silence.

"I thought we weren't talking." Jackson droned out.

"Fine." Leah said, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Jackson looked up at her and then sighed.

"I'm fine." He said.

"You sure?" Leah raised her eyebrows, "I know we aren't friends, but we were both there and I know it's comforting to talk to someone who was in the same situation you were in." Leah motioned to Jackson, not really caring about Jackson but wanting to know what he saw. Jackson eyed her for a moment before taking in a breath.

"Why didn't it kill us? The mountain lion." Jackson asked, leaning forward.

"Well, it didn't kill _you_ because I saved your life." Leah pointed out, getting an eye roll from Jackson. "What did it do to you?" Leah asked, "It looked like it was perched over you."

"Nothing." Jackson shrugged, "It just pulled back the collar of my shirt, just staring at these." Jackson turned so Leah could see the two marks on the back of his neck. Her brow furrowed as Jackson turned back to her.

"What are those?" Leah asked.

"Scott's drug dealer assaulted me in the hallway and jammed his nails into my neck." Jackson mimicked. "Leather jacketed guy." Jackson continued as it became clear Leah didn't know who he was talking about.

"Oh." Leah caught on, realizing he meant Derek, "He's not a drug dealer." Leah scoffed.

"Whatever." Jackson rolled his eyes.

"What about Lydia?" Leah raised her eyebrows, moving on, "Have you guys talked?"

"No." Jackson sighed

"You haven't texted or anything?" Leah asked.

"Kane…" Leah put her hands up and sat back in her seat, giving up. Jackson glanced at her for a moment, "How are you so unaffected by this?" He asked, "About what happened to us?"

"I just try not to think about it." Leah admitted, "I tend to forget things very easily these days so I'm just hoping I'll forget this too."

"Forgetting things?" Jackson asked, "Like homework?"

"Yeah, like homework." Leah nodded, pulling her lips in as she looked away from Jackson, "You should go talk to Lydia." She said, "Make sure she's okay." Leah picked up her tray and pushed her chair back so she could stand up.

"Yeah, I should." Jackson nodded, "Hey, and, uh, the other night…" Leah looked at Jackson, "When you threw the DVDs to get the thing away from me—"

"You mean saving your life?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. Jackson gave her a look and Leah grinned at him, "You're welcome." She said with a slight curtsy. She picked up her bag, walking away from him.

The rest of the day went by smoothly; Stiles had gone MIA along with Scott and Allison which was a relief for Leah. She didn't spend every minute checking around corners for Stiles or something to pop out at her. No one mentioned her birthday, just parent-teacher conferences and exams. Finstock did ask Leah to stay after class, but it was just to give her her paper back and to ask if it was her birthday. Leah shrugged and told him it was, and he gave a little huff and told her that he got up to some crazy things when he was seventeen. Leah figured it was his way of wishing her a happy birthday and she was impressed that he knew.

After the final bell rang, Leah walked out of the school, flipping through her planner as she walked down the front steps. She glanced up briefly, not looking for anything specific, when her eyes landed on Derek's black Camaro, Derek leaning against it. Leah furrowed her brow and went over to the car, hiking up her back.

"…Hey." Leah greeted him, confused as to why he was there. "What's up?" She asked.

"Want a ride home?" Derek offered. Leah eyed him before taking in a breath,

"Fine." She settled on, not one to give up a free ride home, "But you have to promise not to murder me." She pointed at Derek, who rolled his eyes and let out a sigh and nodded, "Say it." Leah raised her eyebrows at him, "Say you promise."

"I promise." He mumbled. Leah grinned at him as she walked around the front of the Camaro, sliding into the passenger seat.

Derek got into the driver's side and started up the Camaro. Leah turned around in her seat, buckling herself and catching sight of a small box in the cup holder. She picked it up and looked at Derek, eyebrows raised.

"What's this?" She asked, getting Derek to look over at her for a moment before pulling out of the parking lot.

"Oh, uhm, it's a birthday gift." Derek paused, "For you." He added on.

Leah's brow furrowed and she stared at Derek, "How'd you know it was my birthday?" Leah asked. Derek took in a breath and looked over to her.

"I've always known when your birthday is." Derek explained, "Uh, when you were younger, Connor and I used to take you to that ice cream place downtown and you used to get—"

"Two scoops, one mint and one chocolate." Leah finished for him, remembering the small tradition. But she only remembered Connor being there with her, no one else. "I don't remember you being there though." Leah furrowed her brow as she looked at Derek. Derek raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment.

"Anyway, that is for you." Derek motioned to the box, "You can open it." Derek raised his eyebrows at Leah, who gave him a look before turning the small box over in her hands.

Leah glanced down, sliding her finger under the tape and lifting the lid. Nestled inside was a necklace with a small, clear vial full of black dust dangling from the chain. Leah looked at it before looking up at Derek.

"Mountain Ash." He answered her unasked question, "It protects against supernatural creatures. In case you run into the Alpha again," Leah gave Derek a small smile as he glanced over to her, "but be careful, because if you eat it by accident you could also get really sick."

"Like a cyanide pill, but not." Leah said, making a face, "Thanks, Derek." Leah set the box on her lap so she could take the necklace out and put it around her neck. Leah's fingers played with the vial for a moment before letting it drop.

"Connor told me what happened to you." Derek glanced at Leah as he turned down Leah's street, "And about you saying something about Laura." Derek prompted as he pulled up in front of Leah's house. Leah raised her eyebrows, not saying anything. Derek stared at her, mimicking her expression and letting Leah crack first.

"I just…It's hard to explain." Leah swallowed, "I remember bits and pieces but most of it feels like a dream." Leah quietly started, "And it comes back to me in flashes."

"What does?"

"Like…a whole part of my life that I don't remember living." Leah whispered, blinking a bit, "And it always comes back when I'm involved with something werewolf related." Leah made a fist and pushed it down on her thigh, looking over to Derek. "Something _happened_ to me Derek, but I can't remember what."

"I can't give you the answers you want or need," Derek started, "but I know it has to do with my family so I'm here if you need anything. And nothing like what happened last night, or what happened when you were younger, is gonna happen to you again if I have anything to say about it." Derek finished. Leah raised her eyebrows at Derek and tried not to smile,

"So are we done with the creepy, stalker Derek?" Derek scoffed and rolled his eyes,

"We have a common enemy." Derek pointed out, "We'll work better together."

"A big fan of teamwork all of a sudden, huh?" Leah teased. Derek sighed and gave her a pointed look.

"Get out of my car." Derek tried not to smile at Leah. Leah smirked at Derek before saluting him and pushing out of his car. She grabbed her bags and leaned down to look at Derek.

"Thank you, again, for this." Leah raised the box, indicating the necklace. Derek nodded and gave her a small wave as Leah stepped back from the car. Derek drove off as Leah turned away, heading up the front walk.

No one was home when Leah walked through the front door. There was a note on the counter from Connor saying that he went over to his "boyfriend's", but would be back in time for dinner. Leah's mom and dad were still at work and were going straight to the parent-teacher conferences after so Leah was pretty much alone.

She did her homework at the kitchen counter, trying to keep her mind off of the text Lydia had sent her and Jackson asking about how she was able to act okay. Leah wasn't okay. She was freaked out. But as long as she kept pretending she was okay, she would hopefully be okay.

Once her homework was done, Leah found herself sitting on the couch with Webster, thoughts drifting back to the video store as she played with Derek's necklace. Leah reached for her phone, looking at Lydia's video message. The massive, hulking Alpha werewolf was but a blur in Lydia's video, but Leah could see the red eyes. Leah didn't know how, but she was faster—maybe the adrenaline kicked in, but she was faster and she had survived.

Which could also mean that the Alpha could come after Leah again and maybe she wouldn't be so lucky the next time. Next time it probably wouldn't be a piece of glass and a head injury; it would be something she wouldn't be able to walk off.

Leah looked at Lydia's video one last time before taking in a deep breath and hitting the delete button. She had to stop thinking about it—about the Alpha, about the attack, about her birthday, about all of it.

Pushing off of the couch, Leah went into the kitchen, needing to do something with her hands or else she would go insane. So she went into the cabinets and pulled out out all the ingredients to make cupcakes along with a mixing bowl. Baking had always been therapeutic for Leah; when she was younger, she would eat every time she was stressed or embarrassed. But as she grew older, Leah realized that she couldn't just eat her problems away, so she tried running, but found she could only run so far from her problems. Baking was really the only thing Leah was good at and her family didn't seem to mind when there were cookies or brownies around.

There were different things that Leah would bake depending on the situation; brownies for whenever Stiles pissed her off, cookies for school stress, and cupcakes for general stress or anxiety. It calmed her down, mixing everything into one big bowl and then baking it all in there. It was almost like she was baking all of her stress and anxiety into something.

The doorbell rang as Leah was icing the cupcakes. She glanced at the oven clock to see that it was already close to eight. Her parents still weren't home from the parent-teacher conferences and Leah checked her phone to see that there were no new texts. She rinsed her hands and went for the door, opening it up to see Stiles standing on the stoop.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, brow furrowing.

"My dad told me to meet him here." Stiles said, glancing over his shoulder, "But he's not here yet…"

"No one's here yet." Leah squinted at him. "My parents aren't even home."

"Why am I here?" He groaned out, tipping his head back.

"Wondering the same thing." Leah sighed, "I thought you would at least be with your dad."

"It's not Friday!" Stiles flailed a bit, "He just told me to come here at eight!"

"Do you really not know what today is?" Leah asked, brow furrowing again.

Stiles had been acting just as he usually did which is why Leah was so thrown off. Usually on her birthday, he always made a point of being nicer than usual until something exploded. But nothing exploded all day.

"It's….Monday…?" Stiles squinted at Leah.

"Yeah, and my birthday." Leah sighed out, "Your dad told you to come because there was supposed to be some big birthday dinner, but no one showed…"

"Your birthday." Stiles managed out, biting his lower lip, "It's…your birthday. _Fuck_. It totally is."

"Yep." Leah nodded, making a face. Stiles looked to the side and shoved his hands in his pockets as he blew out a breath. "Everyone forgot. I'm truly living the _Sixteen Candles_ dream." Leah made a face before she waved her hand in the air, "You can leave." Stiles looked back at her, looking like he was about to leave, when he hesitated.

"Were you baking?" Stiles asked.

"Uh, yeah." Leah scratched her temple, "Why?"

"You have blue on your face." Stiles motioned to her cheek. Leah reached up and scrubbed at her cheek, turning away from him for a moment before turning back.

"Still there." Stiles said, rocking back on his heels. Leah scrubbed at it again with the sleeve of shirt. "Here." Stiles reached forward, Leah pulled back from his touch.

"No. I got it." She mumbled, "Just go home."

"Or I could stay." Stiles offered, throwing his hand out towards her. Leah stopped rubbing her face and stared at him.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Cause I smell cupcakes and I'm starving." Stiles shrugged, "Plus, I've been doing research on the Hale fire and kinda would like to talk to someone about it." Leah stared at Stiles for a moment before sighing and stepping back. Stiles came into the house and shut the door behind him.

He followed Leah into the kitchen, watching her as she walked around the island to go back to icing cupcakes. Stiles fell silent as he watched her ice the remaining cupcakes. Leah caught him watching her and slid an uniced cupcake over to him.

"You could help." Leah suggested. Stiles gave her a look and reached for the cupcake.

Leah handed him a spreader and he went into the icing bowl. He scooped out a giant blob of icing and let it fall on top of the cupcake before messily spreading it all over.

"Oh my God, no." Leah cringed, reaching over and stopping him, "What are you doing?"

"Icing a cupcake?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "Doing what you're telling me to do? Why are you getting annoyed?"

"Cause you're doing it wrong." Leah pointed out.

"No, I'm not." He shook his head. "There's no _right_ _way_ to ice a cupcake."

"Yes, there is. Have you ever watched the Food Network?"

"Usually when I want to torture myself, I read a women's magazine." Stiles stared at Leah. She rolled her eyes and leaned over to get closer to him.

"God, you're so helpless." She whispered to herself, "Here, hold the spreader still." Leah grabbed his wrist and held it firm, "And then rotate the cupcake slowly underneath the spreader." Leah reached for his other hand, placing her hand over his and helping him rotate the cupcake, "See? It's more even and smoother." Stiles didn't respond and Leah looked up to see him staring back down at her.

Then Leah realized what exactly she was doing. She quickly pulled her hands off of his, leaning back a little. And then he blinked and shook his head, dropping the spreader.

" _Whatever_. Like I'm ever gonna need _that_ skill." He sarcastically said before biting into his cupcake. Leah chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head.

"Yeah, right." Leah looked up to see him swallow his bite and look away from her.

Leah started cleaning up the bowl and spreaders and arranging the cupcakes nicely on the counter. She washed her hands and turned back to Stiles.

"Do you want to go talk about the Hale fire?" Leah asked, getting a nod from Stiles. He hopped off the stool, following Leah upstairs with two more cupcakes in hand.

Once in her room, Leah climbed onto her bed and slid the giant window open, pushing the screen to the side with it. It led to the slanted part of the roof that wasn't facing Scott's house. Stiles climbed out after her and sat down beside her, a good amount of space in between them. Leah pulled down her crop top a bit before pulling her knees up as she stared out across the town.

"Where'd you get the necklace?" Stiles asked. Leah looked down and pulled the vial out a bit but not enough to uncap it.

"Derek gave it to me."

" _Derek_?" Stiles gaped at Leah, "He knew it was your birthday?"

"Apparently." Leah sighed out. "He told me we used to have some birthday tradition. Him, me and Connor." Leah explained. Stiles' brow furrowed as Leah glanced at him, "But I don't remember it."

"Typical." Stiles snorted, getting a glare from Leah.

"Whatever." Leah waved her hand around, "Tell me what you found." Stiles took in a breath and shifted before telling Leah about the case files he found.

"On all the reports, it says that the cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction. But then underneath it says that it could've been arson." Stiles explained.

"So someone could've set the Hale house on fire." Leah condensed what Stiles was saying. Stiles nodded, "But who would do that? Why would they do that?"

"I really don't know." Stiles sighed out, "But maybe it has to do with the werewolf thing." He shrugged. Leah let out a sigh and extended her legs. "I went over to Lydia's today." Stiles continued after a moment. Leah looked over to him, eyebrows raised.

"How was that?"

"She was pretty high on some major painkillers." Stiles nodded, pulling in his lips, "And she thinks it was a mountain lion too."

"So does Jackson." Leah sighed, getting a look from Stiles, "I talked to him today too." Leah moved her head around, scrunching up her features. Stiles rolled his eyes and took in a breath.

"She had this video though." Stiles shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a phone. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked at the phone, then back at Stiles.

"Is that-"

"Lydia's phone? Yes."

"Wow, Coleslaw, you are unbelievable." Leah laughed out, shaking her head at Stiles.

"Shut up, okay?" Stiles gave Leah a look, "I stole it because on it, there was a video of whatever attacked you guys in the video store." Stiles raised his eyebrows, waiting for Leah's reaction. Leah shrugged and turned away from him,

"Yeah, she sent it to me accidentally." Leah shrugged again, "It was of the Alpha."

"So we're on the same page that it's the Alpha?" Stiles asked, holding out a hand. Leah took in a breath and looked at him,

"Yes, it was the Alpha." She stated, raising her eyebrows, "Now, can we just stop talking about werewolves tonight?" Leah asked, raising a hand, "Just for tonight. My head hurts and I don't wanna dive into all of your theories on my birthday." Stiles stared at Leah and then nodded.

"Yeah, sure." He placed Lydia's phone on the roof and then looked down at the two cupcakes in his hands and then offered Leah one.

"No, thanks." Leah shook her head, "I've learned my lesson with you and cake based products."

"Leah, I was _eleven_." Leah gave Stiles a look. He made a face at Leah, "Oh my God." Stiles set the cupcakes down, holding up his pointer finger. "I pointer finger promise that there is nothing in that cupcake but cake and icing." He said.

Leah stared at him, feeling her features soften; when they were younger, after watching _E.T._ , they decided to use pointer finger promise instead of pinky swearing because according to them, pinkies were too small to hold promises.

She gave Stiles a small smile and reached out to meet his pointer finger, wrapping it around his for a quick moment before she took the cupcake from him. His phone started to blare as soon as Leah took the cupcake. Then Leah's started buzzing. She reached into her pants pocket and looked at the call screen.

"Mom?" Leah answered as the same time as Stiles answered his phone,

"Dad?"

 _"Honey, I'm so sorry, parent teacher conferences ran late. And then there was a mountain lion in the parking lot."_ Tara's voice came over the line.

"What? Oh my God, are you okay?" Leah asked.

"What do you mean you're going to the hospital?" Stiles asked. Leah looked over at him, eyes wide as her mom spoke.

 _"Mr. Stilinski got hit by a car. We're taking him to the hospital right now."_

"Okay." Leah's head was spinning as she tried to wrap her head around what had happened, "Is he okay?"

 _"He's fine. Probably just bruised."_

"Dad, I'm coming, okay? I'll meet you there." Stiles hung up with his dad and Leah quickly ended her conversation with her mom.

"My dad—"

"I know." Leah cut Stiles off, "Do you want me to come with you?" Leah asked. Stiles stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Okay." Leah nodded back, "Come on, let's go."

Stiles was anxious on the drive to the hospital, Leah could tell. She didn't say anything the entire ride, just let him tap on the wheel and jut his chin out a couple times. She was still holding her cupcake in her hand as they parked in the parking lot and walked into the hospital. Stiles asked one of the nurses where his dad was and the nurse led them to the room. She told them that the doctor was in with the sheriff examining him.

Leah sat down in one of the chairs, but Stiles was still standing and pacing back and forth. Being in the hospital with Stiles reminded her of when Stiles' mom was sick and they would be in the hospital waiting room while they waited for Leah's dad's shift to be over. They were supposed to be playing with the toys, but Stiles wouldn't sit still. So he would pace and Leah would build Lego towers. Stiles would fall asleep on the way home, drained from walking up and down the hallway.

Leah's phone buzzed and she balanced the cupcake on her lap to get her phone. Scott was calling, "Hey." Leah said as she answered, looking around to make sure no nurses were coming, "I can't really talk. I'm at the hospital with Stiles waiting for his dad."

" _It's that bad?!_ " Scott cried out.

"I don't know." Leah said back, before pausing, "Wait, you know what happened?"

" _Yeah, I was there_." Scott responded back.

"Scott, you were there when it happened?" Leah asked, getting Stiles' attention.

" _Yeah, but I was with Allison. It all happened so fast—The car was coming, Allison didn't see. If I didn't save her she would've gotten hit._ "

"Scott, Stiles' dad is hurt because you saved Allison." Leah said into the phone, getting a little angry with Scott. He kept putting Allison first, over and over again.

" _I know. I know!"_ Scott said, " _God, I'm so stupid_."

"Scott, I have to go." Leah said, "There's a nurse coming."

" _Can you just tell Stiles I'm sorry?"_ Scott asked, " _And I'm sorry about missing your birthday dinner._ "

"Me too." Leah said, glancing down at the cupcake.

 _"I swear, I'll make it up to you._ "

Leah didn't respond to Scott, just took in a deep breath before hanging up the phone.

"He was there!?" Stiles said from above her, arms flailing.

"Stiles, he saved Allison—"

"I don't care! He should've saved my dad!" Stiles was yelling.

"Stiles." Leah hissed out, "I agree, but he can only do so much!"

"Well, he made the wrong choice." Stiles said. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and started down the hallway, away from Leah.

"Stiles, where are you going?" Leah asked, "Stiles!" She watched him turn a corner and then Leah slumped down against the chair. Leah sighed and leaned her head against the wall.

* * *

Leah felt someone's hand on her shoulder and felt her eyes open to see her mom sitting in the chair next to her. She was still in the hospital hall outside of Mr. Stilinski's room: she figured she must've fallen asleep while waiting for Stiles to come back.

"Hey." Leah said, blinking a bit. Tara gave her a small smile.

"Lele, what are you doing here?"

"Came with Stiles." Leah said, still a bit out of it. "He came by the house for the birthday dinner, but everyone else forgot."

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry." Tara put her hand over her mouth, looking guilty, "With all that's happened tonight…"

"It's okay." Leah gave her a small smile, "Is the sheriff okay?"

"Just put on bed rest for the rest of the week, which he is _not_ happy about." Tara gave her a smile. Leah laughed a little before realizing that she was still holding the cupcake. Her mom noticed too and Leah felt her shift a bit to reach into her bag.

"Here." She produced a package of candles.

"You just carry around candles?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. Tara gave her a look.

"Don't question the things in my purse." She wagged her finger at Leah. Leah rolled her eyes as her mom took the cupcake from her, sticking the candle in it. Tara looked around herself before quickly lighting it.

"Quick, make a wish." She said, a small smile on her face. Leah gave her a small smile as she thought about what to wish for.

A thousand ideas ran through her head, but it all seemed so pointless. Especially now; it was too normal. Wishes and birthdays. It didn't even feel like her birthday. Leah felt her eyes water up as she looked at the cupcake. She wanted it to explode, just so everything would seem okay. Stiles would come out and laugh and make fun of Leah for believing that pointer finger promise bullshit that he pulled. And it would be a normal birthday. Not whatever the day had been with the icing cupcakes and actually being civil with Stiles. Not that Leah was complaining, but it was weird and Leah was waiting for the explosion.

Leah looked up to see that her mom was waiting expectantly. Leah gave one more thought about her wish before leaning forward and blowing out the candle.

"What'd you wish for?" Tara asked.

"Can't tell you or else it won't come true." Leah softly reminded her.

"Since when do you abide by the birthday rules?" Tara asked, taking out the candle and putting the lighter away.

Leah shrugged and looked to see that the curtain to Mr. Stilinski's room was open. She could see Stiles and Mr. Stilinski talking and then Stiles looked out the window at Leah. She gave him a small smile and he returned it as Leah played with the vial of wolfsbane that Derek gave her before looking away from Stiles to her mom.

"Since always." Leah said, making a face. Her mom laughed at her and wrapped an arm around Leah, pulling her close.

"Happy birthday, Lele. We'll do presents in the morning, promise. And I'm sorry if your special day sucked."

"It wasn't the worst." Leah sighed, settling into her mom's side, glancing at Stiles through the window again.

* * *

A/N: Questions, comments, concerns, cries of outrage? Let me know!


	15. An Afternoon with Derek

While Leah was making cupcakes and distracting herself from everything that had been happening throughout the past few weeks, Connor Kane was pulling up to the Hale house. He had lied to his sister, telling her he was going over to his "boyfriend's" when in reality he was meeting up with Derek.

Derek's Camaro was parked around the back of the house, and Connor parked his car next to the Camaro. He got out and jogged into the back of the house, stepping over the rotting wood and fallen beams. Some type of workout music was blasting throughout the house and Connor followed it to find Derek doing pull ups in the doorway, the triskele tattoo on his back flexing with each pull.

"You know there are things called gyms." Connor said as Derek dropped to his feet at the sound of Connor's entrance. "And shirts." Connor added on, raising his eyebrows. Derek rolled his eyes and let Connor step around him into the living room area.

"Did you give it to her?" Connor asked, turning to look at his friend.

"Yeah, she seemed to like it." Derek sighed, "It was a bitch to get to the school though." Derek explained, talking about the mountain ash birthday present Connor had helped him get Leah. Connor rolled his eyes and turned away from his friend.

"Did she talk to you about what happened at the video store?" Connor asked, turning back to Derek.

"Barely." Derek crossed his arms, "You have to tell her, man."

"No, _we_ have to tell her." Connor took a step forward, "Don't put this on me and me alone." Connor pointed at himself. "It was your sister that caused this." Connor bit out.

"You really wanna play the blame game right now, _Con_?" Derek asked, stepping forward, brows furrowing.

"Just take responsibility, _Der_." Connor held his stance, not afraid of Derek.

"I'm trying to help her, just as much as you are." Derek seriously said. Connor held Derek's gaze for a moment before Derek raised his eyebrows and turned, going back to the doorframe.

"Are we any closer to figuring out who the Alpha is?" Derek asked, reaching up for the doorframe. Connor paused and took in a breath, ducking his head down.

"No, I have zero leads." Connor sighed, walking over to the burnt couch. He sat down and looked over to see that Derek was back to doing pull ups. Connor rolled his eyes and started flipping through the files he had brought over, trying to find a connection.

Derek dropped to the ground, going into his push-up position. He completed one push-up before his head suddenly flicked to the side. He paused for a split second before getting to his feet and getting Connor's attention,

"Get out." Derek seriously said, making Connor look up from his files.

"Wha—? Why?" Connor asked, dropping his feet from where he put them up against the burnt up table.

"Kate." There was a sense of urgency in Derek's voice that made Connor's eyes go wide.

He swallowed before gathering his things up and running down the hall he came in. Connor exited the house through the back and quietly got into his car, trying to go quickly. He started up the car and prayed that Kate was closer to the house so she wouldn't see his car leaving the property.

Connor maneuvered his car away from the Hale house and onto the main road where he idled for a few minutes. Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, Connor glanced around the outskirts of the forest, looking for anything or anyone. His mind wandered, thinking back to the last time he had seen Kate Argent. It was right after the fire, right after Derek and Laura disappeared. He had confronted Kate about what happened—since she was the last person to see Derek. Kate was coy, citing she didn't know anything, even though Connor knew she did. It was the look on her face: she looked satisfied with herself. It made Connor sick to his stomach.

A knock on the window made Connor jump and he looked over to see Derek on the other side of the window, jiggling the door handle. Connor unlocked the doors to let Derek get into the car. Noticing he was still shirtless, Connor took off his hoodie, handing it to Derek.

"Thanks." Derek was gruff as he took the hoodie. Connor studied his best friend for a moment, seeing that Derek looked unusually pale. Almost like he had seen a ghost.

"What did she want?" Connor asked, prompting Derek.

"To know if I knew who the Alpha was." Derek seriously said. Connor raised his eyebrows at Derek and made a face,

"So they don't know either." He figured.

"They didn't kill Laura." Derek overlapped Connor, wanting to get it out in the open. Connor did a double take and let his mouth open a bit, "So that means, whoever _did_ kill Laura…"

"Is the Alpha." Connor finished with a sigh. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and let out a sigh, "We have to figure it out before they do." Connor realized. Derek gave Connor a small nod, looking at his friend.

* * *

There was an envelope stuck to the window that faced Scott's house. Leah had kept it locked ever since her birthday, which meant two days had gone passed since Scott had climbed into Leah's room. She hadn't talked to Scott since then either and didn't plan on it. She was angry with him, she hated being angry with him, but she was. He ditched her for a girlfriend. And Leah knew she had told basically everyone that she wasn't going to get jealous, but…she was. It hurt her that Scott chose his new girlfriend over her—his best friend and neighbor.

Leah opened the window and plucked the envelope from the other side, bringing it into her room as she shut and locked the window. It was sealed with a piece of tape that Leah ripped off in an attempt to get to what was inside. There was a piece of paper with Scott's five year old handwriting scribbled on it.

 _I'm sorry. Like really, really, really, really, REALLY sorry._

Leah sighed and looked up through her window to see Scott walking around his room, getting ready for school. Scott knew Leah well enough to know when she was angry, it was best to let her go it alone until she was ready to talk, but it didn't mean he still wouldn't try to apologize to her and let her know he was there for her. Leah debated going over to Scott's, but then she remembered that he chose Allison over her so she closed her curtains and crumpled up the note. Leah tossed it in the trash as she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. The back door opened as Leah walked into the kitchen and Leah glanced over to see Connor's Beacon Hills Hookup, Ben, slipping into the kitchen.

"Ben, hi." Leah said as she went over to the tea kettle, "It's a little early for a booty call." Ben gave Leah a small smile,

"Nice to see you too, Leah." Ben greeted her. "Is Connor here?" He asked.

"He isn't with you?" Leah asked, placing the kettle on the stove. Ben gave her a look.

"If he was with me, would I be here?" Leah gave him a look right back, "We were supposed to—"

"Have sex?"

"Hang out." Ben gave Leah a look and she shrugged, going back to her tea, "But he never showed."

"Did you text him?"

"And called, his phone's off." Ben answered. Leah raised her eyebrows at Ben, "I just need to know if he's here." Ben sighed.

"Nope. He didn't come home last night, figured he was with you." Leah pointed to the guy.

"I haven't seen him since your birthday." Leah's eyebrows rose at that, "Where do you think he could've gone?" Ben asked, looking worried.

"I don't know, Ben. He's an adult, he makes his own decisions." Leah sighed out, trying ignore the small knot of worry forming in her stomach as the tea kettle started whistling, "I'll have him call you when he shows up." She gave him a small smile. Ben nodded and headed for the door before turning back. Leah made up her tea into a travel mug as Ben stepped back,

"Oh, happy belated birthday." He said, pointing at her, "Sorry, I missed the birthday dinner."

"It's fine." Leah waved a hand in the air, making a face. "Wasn't that big of a deal." Leah gave Ben a small smile as he nodded at her.

"Do you want a ride to school?" Ben offered.

"Nah." Leah made a face, "Nah, I'm good. I'll have Connor call you if he comes home." Ben nodded and went back out the kitchen door. Leah picked up her travel mug and went to the front of the house, picking up her bags and skateboard before heading out of the house.

Leah stopped on her stoop and took in a deep breath before looking at the McCall house. Scott was stepping out of his house at the same time. He looked over and saw Leah standing on her stoop. She quickly looked down and pretended to look at her phone. When Leah looked back up, he was already biking towards school.

Leah skated to school by herself, thinking about the morning visit from Ben, who had been hooking up with Connor since Connor graduated college and before he went off to grad school, then whenever Connor came home. Connor had been openly bisexual for as long as Leah could remember and it was something Beacon Hills High harped on; the the star of the lacrosse team, straight A student, clean record, _mixed_. It was like finding a diamond in the rough, but even better. Their mom and dad didn't care; they loved Connor unconditionally. Then Ben came into the picture before Connor left for college and they had been "dating" ever since.

Leah couldn't understand why Connor would lie about being with Ben or that he would ghost on Ben. What worried her the most was that Connor had been missing for two days, with no sign of contact in any way, shape or form. That wasn't like her brother, but then again, he had lied to her about werewolves inhabiting Beacon Hills, so she honestly didn't even know if she truly knew her brother.

When Leah got to school, she avoided pretty much everyone. She had taken a mental health day after the birthday from hell, and somehow managed to stay away from Scott and Allison the day after—hanging out with Kyle and his friends. But Leah wasn't able to avoid Allison anymore; Allison accosted her in the hallway as they walked to English,

"I am _so sorry_." Allison quickly apologized, hands up in front of her, looking sincere.

"About what?" Leah asked, still a little angry with Allison, but not as angry as she was with Scott.

"Leah, honestly, we lost track of time and I know that's a lame excuse, but then we got back to the school for the parent-teacher conferences and the mountain lion attack happened and—" Allison stopped herself, bringing her hands up to her face, "I'm sorry." She simply said, "It was a shit move and we totally ditched you."

Leah took in a breath and looked at Allison for a moment before taking in a breath, "I'm still mad at you, but I accept your apology." Leah settled on, getting a nod from Allison.

"Yes, completely understandable." Allison gave Leah two thumbs up, falling into step next to her, "Let me make it up to you, okay?" Allison looked at Leah, "Let's go out and celebrate our birthdays. My treat." Allison said, looking hopeful. Leah chewed on her bottom lip.

"Yeah, okay." Leah nodded, "Sure." Allison grinned at her, "Oh hey, can you give this back to Lydia?" Leah asked, reaching into her backpack for Lydia's phone, "I found it at the video store and you texted her so I figured it was hers." Leah lied, giving a lame excuse as to why she still had Lydia's phone.

"Oh, sure." Allison's brow furrowed as she took the phone from Leah. Leah gave her a tight smile as they headed into English. Stiles was already sitting there, tapping his pen against his desk. Leah looked down as she walked over and sat next to him, sitting by the window.

"Sit behind me." He quickly said to her, "Let Allison sit next to me."

"What?" Leah felt her brow furrow, "Why?"

"Just do it." He hissed out. Leah gave him a look and shook her head, settling into her seat. "I hate you." Stiles whispered at her.

"Feeling's mutual." Leah whispered back. Whatever civil moment that Stiles and Leah had on her birthday was gone.

Leah looked up to see Scott enter the classroom. He saw the seat behind Stiles and went over to it, sitting down behind him. Leah slid further down in her seat, not even glancing at him. Allison was on the other side of the room, talking to one of the girls from Chemistry.

"Still not talking to me?" Scott asked Stiles. Stiles didn't respond, "Can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? I mean, it's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage?" Still no response from Stiles, "You know I feel really bad about it, right?" Scott asked Stiles. He glanced at Leah and she pretended she wasn't listening.

"Okay. What if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out, and—that I went to Derek for help?" Leah felt her eyebrows raise and she went to turn around in her seat. Scott looked at Leah, hopeful that Leah was going to chime in but Leah shook her head before turning back around.

"If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him." Stiles said, "But obviously I'm not talking to you." There was a beat where Stiles glanced at Leah and then let out a breath before spinning around in his seat, "What did he say?" Scott gave him a little grin as the bell rang.

"After class." Scott whispered to Stiles before sitting back in his seat.

English class went by quickly and once the bell rang, Leah walked out of class before Scott and Stiles, heading to her next class before Scott could try and talk to her. She was still annoyed with him and she wasn't as quick to forgive as Stiles was.

Leah ducked into the bathroom before going to her next class. She dropped her bag to the floor and pulled out her phone, dialing Connor's number. Leah held the phone to her ear as she leaned against the sinks, toeing the floor with her worn Converse. The call went to voicemail and Leah heard Connor's voice telling her to leave him a message. Leah paused for a second after the beep before speaking.

"Hey, Con, it's me. Uhm, I was just wondering…if you were coming home anytime soon. Not like I'm worried or anything." Leah scoffed, picking her head up and tossing her hair over her shoulder, "It's just Ben came by all worried and said you got into a fight…" Leah trailed off, "Anyway, I hope you're not answering because you're banging some super hot person and not, you know, dead." Leah chewed on her bottom lip as she turned around to face the mirror, "So just call me back so I can tell Ben to get over you and stop lurking around the house. I love you, bye." Leah quickly said to end the call. She let out a slow breath and tapped her phone against her palm before picking up her bag and heading out of the girls' room.

Scott was already sitting in his normal seat when Leah got to Chemistry. Leah stared at the empty stool that she usually sat in, debating about sitting there before taking in a breath and heading over to it. It was just one class.

"Got your note." Leah said as she sat down in her seat, "Five _reallys_ huh?" Leah asked, not looking at Scott as she pulled out her books.

"Leah, I _am_ sorry." Scott answered, "I feel like such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." Leah instantly responded, "You're just… _in love._ " Leah rolled her eyes and let out a breath.

"No, but I'm an idiot. I ditched you on your birthday."

"Yeah, I know." Leah said in a monotone, "It was very _Sixteen Candles_." Scott gave her a smile, even though he didn't get the reference. Leah shook her head and opened up her book to the page on the board.

"I'm sorry, Leah." Scott softly said. Leah looked at him, seeing his puppy dog eyes staring back at her.

Leah chewed on the inside of her bottom lip as she stared at him. Leah could never be mad at Scott for long, even when they were kids, she would always forgive him in a short matter of time.

"Damnit, Scott." Leah whispered, breaking and caving, "I forgive you." Leah said in a deep voice, moving her head around a little, "Just don't ever do it again. I'm not about that being ditched life. I had to spend the night with _Stiles_." Leah shuddered as Scott grinned at her.

"Heard you two made cupcakes." Scott raised his eyebrows at Leah with a smirk on his face. She cursed Stiles under her breath.

"Yeah, well…whatever." Leah rolled her eyes and turned to her reading, "We all make mistakes." There was a pause before Scott leaned over to Leah,

"Derek said he could teach me how to control it." Scott explained. "The shift." Leah gave him a look.

"When was this?" She asked. Scott straightened in his seat and blew out a breath.

"Last night, when he stalked me in the parking garage of the grocery store…" Scott winced, Leah made a face.

"Oh my God." Leah whispered out.

"And then he broke my phone. Told me to get rid of distractions." Leah raised her eyebrows and pointed to herself. Scott looked at Leah, slightly shaking his head before looking to where Allison was sitting at the front of the room.

"Oh." Leah managed out, following his gaze, "Well, that's…oddly Spartan-like."

"Stiles said he could teach me himself. Find a way to keep me in control." Scott went on further. Leah scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

"Ugh, why does he always have to come up with the plans?" Leah complained, rolling her eyes and slumping down in her seat.

Leah followed Scott into the lunchroom and he immediately ducked his head when he saw Allison. It was blatantly obvious and very comical. Leah snorted at him and rolled her eyes, continuing on with getting her lunch. Leah led Scott over to a table by the vending machines, and sat in front of him so he could be blocked from Allison's view.

"This is ridiculous." Leah grumbled, "Just for the record, I am still kinda upset with you for ditching me for a girl."

"You're a girl." Scott pointed out, peeking over his history textbook.

"I'm a different type of a girl." Leah pointed at herself. "I'm like a guys' girl."

"Yeah, who knows if you're actually a girl considering you act like a dude half the time." Stiles chimed in as he clambered down next to Leah.

"Who asked you?" Leah sneered out, giving him a look.

"Just stating a fact."

"It's not a fact." Leah shook her head.

"Oh, but it is." Stiles laughed and nodded. Leah glared at him.

"Would you two shut up? Trying not to draw attention over here." Scott whispered out.

"I think the book's making it more obvious." Stiles said as he bit into his apple. Leah grimaced at the sound and glanced over her shoulder. Allison was reading an old book, head bent over, her entire focus on the book.

"Besides, she's reading, anyway." Stiles said, getting Leah to look away from Allison and back to Scott. She glanced down at her phone, seeing that there were no new texts or missed calls from Connor. Leah rubbed her hand over her face as Scott looked at Stiles.

"So did you come up with a plan yet?" Scott asked.

"I think so." Stiles said, flipping through his notebook.

"Oh this oughta be good." Leah grumbled as she picked up her phone, debating with herself to text Connor.

"Do you have a plan, Barbie?" Stiles asked, "All you've done is argue with me and look at your phone. Which is typical of you, but I figured that—"

"Does that mean you don't hate me now?" Scott asked, cutting Stiles off.

"No." Stiles said, glancing at Scott as he took another bite of his apple, "But your crap has infiltrated my life, so now I have to do something about it." There was a pause as he swallowed, "Plus I'm definitely a better Yoda than Derek."

"Okay, yeah, you teach me." Scott said, peeking up from his book.

"Yeah, I'll be your Yoda." Stiles nodded, moving his hands around a bit. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked in between the two boys.

"Yeah, you be my Yoda." Scott raised his eyebrows, eyes flicking over to where Allison was still sitting.

"Your Yoda I will be." Stiles said in a weird voice. Leah felt her eyebrows furrow and let out a short laugh.

"What?" Leah asked, laughing a little.

"I said it backwards." Stiles explained, with a proud grin.

"Yeah, I—I know." Scott said.

"I don't know." Leah shook her head. Stiles did a double take.

"What?"

"What the hell is a Yoda?" Leah asked, flattening her hands on the table.

"You can't be serious." Stiles looked serious as he stared at Leah. She made a face and then shrugged, "Barbie, please tell me you've seen _Star Wars_."

"I've seen trailers." Leah said with another shrug, "Never really got into it."

"That's ridiculous! How could you never ever have seen _Star Wars?"_ Stiles was flailing.

"Because I have a life?" Leah asked back, moving her head around. Stiles gave her a look.

"No, you don't."

"Well, I don't feel like spending an eighteenth of it on some lame movie." Leah droned out, taking a sip of her water bottle.

"Lame!? Are you friggin' kidding me? _Stars Wars_ is the best film series ever created!"

"It's a series?!" Leah yelled back.

"I haven't seen it either." Scott added on, getting Stiles' head to swing back to look at him.

"All right, you know what? I definitely still hate you." Stiles started gathering his things up, "Uh-huh. Oh, yeah." He grunted out, pushing out of his seat and standing up. "Barbie, you're coming with me."

Leah felt Stiles' hand around her arm, yanking her to her feet. She let out a surprised yelp as she scrambled to get her things. Stiles let go of her for a moment in order to grab Scott's history book, revealing Scott to Allison. Then Stiles grabbed Leah's arm as soon as she was to her feet and practically dragged her out of the cafeteria.

"Let go of me." Leah growled out, wrenching away from him when they got out to the hall. " _God_." Leah breathed.

"You need to help me." Stiles said.

"No." Leah shook her head, "It's your plan." Leah reminded him, stepping back, "You figure it out. I'm spending my free period doing something else." Leah said, spinning around on the toe of her sneaker.

"Leah, wait, come on." Stiles groaned, coming after her. "I need—We need to teach him before Derek gets to him."

"What if what Derek is gonna teach him is actually gonna help?" Leah asked, spinning around, "I mean, he is the resident werewolf." Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But he doesn't know Scott like we do." Stiles flicked his hand in between the space between them. Leah chewed on her bottom lip, "What if he hurts him?"

"He's not gonna—" Leah started to shake her head.

"He could!" Stiles cut her off, "Just help me. We gotta be a team." Leah pursed her lips, not answering Stiles' request, but instead moving on to a different topic,

"Have you heard from Connor by any chance?"

"What? No. Why would I hear from him?" Stiles made a face, a little taken aback.

"Just wondering." Leah shrugged, "Good luck with your grand plan." She said as she turned, walking away from Stiles,

"Wait, Leah!" Stiles called out after her before letting out a sigh.

Leah turned the corner, running straight into Scott. She took a couple quick steps back as Scott reached out to make sure she was okay. Leah blinked before looking up at Scott,

"Hey there." She gave him a small smile as Scott took his hands back. "What's up?"

"Just avoiding Allison per Derek's request." Scott sighed out. Leah took in a breath and reached out to rub his arm,

"It'll get better…hopefully." Leah tried to comfort Scott. He gave her a small smile and nodded a bit before perking up.

"Oh, here." Scott said, slipping his backpack off of his shoulder straps so he could reach into his backpack and pull out a long, envelope. "It's your birthday present. A _late_ birthday present." Scott added on as he handed Leah the envelope. Leah took it, sliding her finger under the flap. She opened up the envelope and saw that there was a picture inside of it.

"You got me a picture of a longboard?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I mean, I couldn't fit the longboard into my backpack." Scott rubbed the back of his neck, "It's at my house. I can give it to you tonight."

" _Scott_ …" Leah trailed off, knowing full well how much longboards cost and knowing that Scott had probably spent two paychecks on it.

"Your old skateboard is well, old." Scott explained, "Do you like it?" Leah looked up at him, his eyes big and brown and hopeful.

"Of course I like it, you idiot." Leah said, lightly punching his shoulder. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem." Scott grinned at her. "Where'd you get the necklace from?" Scott asked, motioning to the necklace Derek had given Leah. Leah's fingers instantly went to play with the vial.

"Uh, Derek, actually." She said with a nod. Scott's eyebrows rose, "Said it was for protection." She added on, trying to defend Derek's actions.

"What is that?" Scott asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Mountain Ash." Leah explained, "He said it protected against supernatural beings."

"Oh." Scott said, looking a little hurt.

"Scott, it's just in case the Alpha attacks. I'm not planning on using it on you." Leah explained, shaking her head.

"Well, that's good, I guess." Scott sighed out, hiking up his backpack. Leah gave him a reassuring smile and rubbed his arm.

"You're my best friend, Scott. I wouldn't hurt you. I mean, unless you deserved it." She said, scrunching up her features.

"I wouldn't hurt you either, Leah." Scott said back. Leah gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Have fun with Stiles." Leah said goodbye to Scott, stepping back from him. Scott raised his eyebrows at her and nodded, letting Leah turn and walk away from her best friend.

Leah walked into the library during her free period, spotting Allison at one of the tables. She maneuvered her way over to her friend, setting her backpack on the table and getting Allison's attention.

"Hey." Allison gave Leah a smile, "Have you seen Scott?" Her brow furrowed.

"Not since lunch." Leah shook her head, sitting down across from Allison, "Why?"

"He's been acting off all day. His phone's not working, but he won't even talk to me."

"Strange." Leah commented, not wanting to get into the details of her friend's life. "What are you reading?" Leah asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, it's for our history project." Allison held up the book, "My aunt gave it to me and it's all about our family history." Allison grinned at Leah. Leah raised her eyebrows as Allison continued, "Apparently there was this guy named Argent who killed this infamous beast." Allison was getting excited as she flipped the book around to show Leah, "The beast of Gevaudan. Some believed it was this massive wolf while others thought it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating monster." Allison pointed to the picture of a massive black shadow with bright red eyes. Leah raised her eyebrows at the picture before looking up at Allison,

"Wow…" Leah managed as Allison grinned at her, "And here my family history just leads me back to a skinny, tall white dude who was nicknamed _Kane_." Leah rolled her eyes as Allison grinned at her.

"Super cool, right?" Allison made an excited face.

" _Super_ _cool_." Leah agreed with her, forcing a smile on her face as her insides twisted, "Your ancestors hunted wolves." Leah tried to ignore the knot in her stomach. She took in a breath before grinning back at Allison, "You know, I just remembered I have to talk to Finstock about some lacrosse thing, so I'll see you in Econ." Leah said, getting up from her seat. Allison nodded at her, giving her a small smile. Leah waved to her before walking out of the library.

Checking her phone, Leah saw that there were still no new messages from Connor. Leah was getting worried, so she went in search of the one person who could help her.

"Hey, Danny." Leah said with a charming smile as she rolled over on one of the chairs to Danny, "We're friends, right?"

"What do you need?" Danny asked, not falling for Leah's tricks.

"I need you to track a cellphone." Leah pointed to Danny before pointing to the computers they were sitting in front of.

"Why?"

"Because we're teammates and teammates help each other out." Leah simply said. Danny gave her an unamused look and Leah took in a breath, "My brother's still single." Leah rested her chin in her hands, "And he's back in town…" Danny raised his eyebrows—Leah was well aware of Danny's small crush on Connor, "Maybe…you could help me with this and I could do something for you…" Leah prompted.

"What?"

"Get you into the Jungle." Leah stated, referring to Beacon Hills' _only_ gay club, "Connor hangs out there whenever he's home and I don't know…maybe you could just _bump_ into him." Leah made her eyes wide and Danny raised his eyebrows. "Are you catching what I'm throwing?" Leah asked, scrunching up her features.

"Yep, yeah." Danny nodded. "I'll have it done before the period's over."

"You're a gem." Leah grinned at Danny as she pushed back from the desk. She wrote down all of Connor's phone information and gave it to Danny.

Leah exited the computer lab, looking around for any sign of Scott or Stiles. She headed out to the lacrosse fields, spotting the two of them standing in the middle of the field, a little ways away from each other. Leah hurried over to them only to stop suddenly when she saw that Stiles was hurling lacrosse balls at Scott.

"What the fuck!?" Leah cried out, running to the boys. She got Stiles' attention after he launched another ball against Scott, making him go down, " _This_ was your grand plan!?" Leah yelled out, motioning around, "To hit Scott with lacrosse balls!?"

"It's to make him focus on keeping his heart rate down. Anger is causing him to shift, so if he's in a situation that makes him angry, he has to keep calm—" Stiles tried to explain but Leah cut him off by grabbing the lacrosse stick from Stiles' grip

"I don't care! It was a shitty plan, Coleslaw!" Leah cried out, smacking Stiles with each word. Stiles gasped in pain, wincing as Leah thwacked the lacrosse stick against his body.

She stopped at the sound of tape ripping and the beeping of what sounded like a phone. Leah glanced over at Scott, seeing that he was hunched over, breathing heavily, hands clawing at the ground as he started to shift. Leah glared at Stiles before running over to her best friend.

"Scott?" She asked reaching out to him. Scott's breathing returned to normal as the beeping on the phone stopped.

"Scott, you started to change." Stiles said as Scott relaxed and looked up at them. Leah pursed her lips at Stiles, shaking her head.

"But it was more than that." Scott said, taking in a deep breath, "It was like, the angrier I got, the stronger I felt."

"So it is anger, then." Stiles said, stating the obvious. Leah sighed, closing her eyes and turning her head to look down at Scott,

"Derek's right. I can't be around Allison." Scott softly said. Leah opened her eyes, meeting Scott's look.

"Just because she makes you happy?" Stiles asked. Scott glanced up at Stiles,

"No, because she makes me weak." He truthfully answered.

Leah rubbed her hand over her mouth and sat back on her knees. She looked over Scott and saw Jackson staring at them. Their eyes met and he turned, walking away from the lacrosse field. Leah looked back down at Scott, who looked like a puppy who had just been kicked.

* * *

The boys had gone into the locker room to do something or other before their next class and Leah had gotten a text from Allison, asking her to meet her before class. So Leah went back into the school, seeing Allison come out of the library. Allison saw her and quickly hurried over to her with a grin on her face,

"Can we switch chem partners?" Allison asked, flicking a hand between them. Leah felt her brow furrow.

"But my chem partner is—oh." Leah realized where Allison was going with it. Scott was Leah's chemistry partner. And Stiles was Allison's. Leah made a face at Allison as she hopefully looked at her. Then Leah stomped her foot and looked around the hallway before slumping down.

"Fine, whatever. You owe me. _So big._ " Leah grumbled. Allison threw her arms around Leah and hugged her tight.

"Thank you so much!" She said, stepping back. "I'll see you in class!" Allison walked away from Leah and Leah took in a deep breath before shaking her head. She turned around and started walking towards class as Scott and Stiles loped out of the locker room.

"Sup." Leah nodded at them as she fell into step next to Scott.

"Just trying to figure out how I can be around Allison." Scott sighed out, shoving a hand through his hair.

"Oh, hey." Danny spotted Leah in the hall and got her attention. Leah stopped walking, letting the boys go into the classroom, "I, uh, tracked the phone—" Leah raised her eyebrows, "And the last ping that came up was over by where the old Hale house used to be." Danny finished, eyebrows furrowing. Leah felt her stomach drop as she stared at Danny. She took a few steps back and raised her hand up to Danny,

"Uhm, okay, thanks." Leah nodded at Danny before turning and hurrying away from Danny.

"Where are you going!?" Danny yelled after her.

Leah didn't answer him as she ran down the hall, and through the double doors. Leah ran down the front steps and started to sprint to the woods, needing to find Connor.

She stomped through the woods, seeing the Hale house getting closer. Her bag dropped from her shoulders as she stomped up the stairs. The door was already opened, letting her step inside the old, burnt house. She looked around for any signs of Connor.

"Derek?" She called out, "I know you're here!" Leah yelled out, "You don't really have anywhere else to go." Leah mumbled as she walked through the first floor, "Did you do something to Connor?" She called out, "Cause I'll kill you!" There was no answer. Leah was starting to get angry. She shoved a hand through her hair and spun around, letting out a huff.

"Derek!" Leah yelled out, going for the stairs. she stomped up them, half expecting her foot to go through the old wood boards. "Get your fucking werewolf ass out here or so help me—!" Leah went down the hall, moving into one of the rooms.

Her eyes flicked over the burnt remains of old furniture and such, realizing there was no one. She backed out, hair whirling around her shoulder as she spun around. Leah jogged down to the other end of the hallway, bracing herself on the doorway of another room, when her vision went blurry. Leah gripped on the doorframe as voices swarmed inside her head.

" _Leah_." A familiar voice sang out. Leah realized it was Laura's voice. She heard a stifled giggle, and Leah slowly turned her head, feeling like she was underwater as she looked down to see a younger version of herself, hiding behind the curtains in the room, trying to keep quiet.

" _Come out, come out wherever you are._ " Laura sang out as she walked around the room. Leah could see her shadow moving around the room, but never saw Laura's face.

 _"If you don't come out, I'm gonna send Peter up here!"_ Laura's words caused little Leah's eyes to go wide. Leah watched herself step out around the curtain, stepping out after and seeing how the room used to look as little Leah jumped out from behind the curtains.

 _"I'm here! I'm here!"_ Little Leah held up her hands in front of her face, shaking them, _"Don't tell Peter to come up here!"_

 _"Cora! I found her!"_ Laura called out with a smile. Laura picked younger Leah up in her arms. Leah took in a breath at seeing Laura stand in front of her, a wide smile on her face as she held younger Leah.

 _"You tricked me!"_ Little Leah pouted. Laura grinned at her, tapping her nose with her finger.

 _"You have to think like the wolf to trick the wolf."_ Little Leah glared at Laura.

 _"That makes no sense!"_ Little Leah shook her head, hair whipping back and forth.

 _"It will one day."_ Laura bounced little Leah on her hip.

 _"Shouldn't be saying those things, Laura."_ Leah heard a voice say from the doorway. She looked over to see a man, leaning against the doorframe. _"You'll scare her."_

 _"She's fine, Peter."_ Laura said as little Leah hid her face against Laura's shoulder. Peter smirked at Laura before pushing off the doorframe he was leaning against and walking away. Laura looked at little Leah, forcing a smile to cover up her distaste for Peter.

 _"Let's go find where Cora's hidden those cookies."_ She said, before setting little Leah on the ground and Leah watched herself reach up to hold Laura's hand.

Leah's vision went blurry again as she stepped back, trying to move around as the scene faded. Her knees gave out and Leah felt her body fall towards the floor, but she never hit the ground. A pair of arms caught her around her waist, letting Leah lean against them. Leah felt her head roll back against the person's chest and when she looked up, Derek was staring back down at her, a concerned look on his face.

"Where's Connor?" Leah asked, groaning a bit as she pushed out of his grasp. She got to her feet and swayed a bit.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked, reaching out to her. Leah waved his hand away.

"Where's my brother?" Leah voice was raspy and she cleared her throat, trying to pull herself together to look intimidating.

"Connor? He's not here. He went home." Derek said, eyebrows still knitted in concern, "Leah, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Leah said, eyes narrowing, "I'm not the one who _kidnapped_ my brother."

"What?" Derek asked. Leah let out a sigh.

"I'm a little off my game today." Leah said, waving her hand around.

"I didn't do anything with your brother. Connor came to me."

"Why?" Leah asked. Derek stared at her. Leah pulled a face, "Oh my God, did you have sex with my brother?!" She cried out.

"What!? No!" Derek quickly shouted, "No!" Leah made a disgusted noise, "No, Leah, we're trying to figure out who the Alpha is."

"That's it?" Leah asked, glancing back at him. Derek nodded.

"That's it. You seem to forget that your brother and I are friends."

"I seem to be forgetting a lot of things." Leah sighed out, leaning against the wall. "And then suddenly remembering them." Leah looked around the room, motioning to the room.

"Is that what happened?" Derek asked. "You remembered something."

"Yeah." Leah let out a sigh, "I've been here before. Playing hide and seek with…Laura, I guess." She looked over at Derek, "And this guy, Peter—" Leah saw Derek's eyes flick up at the name.

"You saw Peter?"

"I think I was scared of him." Leah admitted. Derek tried to fight the smile that was beginning to appear on his face, "It's not funny!" Leah noticed.

"Just can't picture you being scared of anything." Derek said with a shrug. Leah crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, well…he died, right?" Leah asked. Derek looked down at the floor, not responding and Leah realized she had hit a nerve, "Thanks for catching me. Probably would've gone through the floorboards." Leah kicked at the floor, eyes on her foot before she looked up at Derek

"He didn't die in the fire." Derek shook his head, looking up at Leah. Leah raised her eyebrows in response.

"So where is he?" She asked.

"Come on, I'll show you." Derek jerked his head towards the door. Leah blinked at him before sighing and following him down the stairs and out of the old Hale house.

"So you can afford a Camaro but you can't afford a decent place to live?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow as she slammed the passenger side door shut.

"I can afford a decent place to live." Derek said, a hint of an amused smile on his face.

"Then why do you hang around your old burnt down home?" Leah asked, glancing at him. Derek took in a breath, but didn't respond. Leah rolled her eyes at him, "Anyway…I thought you said we were done with the whole _stalker vibe_." Leah moved her hands around, getting Derek's attention, "I know you stalked Scott in the parking garage last night."

"Actually, that was your brother's idea." Derek raised a finger up and Leah raised her eyebrows up.

"Seriously?" Leah made a face. "Did he tell you to smash Scott's phone too?"

"Ah, no." Derek shook his head and Leah gave him a look, "That was all me."

"That's what I thought," Leah murmured as Derek pulled into a parking lot, parking in front of a gray building.

Leah looked at the sign, reading that it was the hospital long term care building. Derek turned the car off and pushed out of the driver's side of the car. Leah followed suit, hurrying to fall into step with him as he walked up to the front of the building.

The inside wasn't any better than the outside. It was cold and quiet. Derek looked like he knew where he was going so Leah followed him, trying to remember what turns they took and what hallways they went down before they got to a room. Derek stepped inside first, Leah left the door open and went over to stand next to Derek.

"He was the only one who made it out alive." Derek said, motioning to the man, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"He's a werewolf though, right?" Leah asked, "So shouldn't he be able to heal himself?"

"He was burnt so badly that it's taking him longer to heal." Leah stared at the man's back as Derek went up to turn the chair around so Leah could see him. She took in a sharp breath and looked away as she saw the man's half burnt face.

"And the Argents did this?" Leah asked, voice quiet.

"They're the only ones who knew about us." Derek's voice was low. "I took Scott here before to show him that they can't be trusted, Leah." Leah looked up at Derek, "This is what they do to people like us." Derek motioned to Peter. Leah looked down at the man in the wheelchair, studying him.

There was something about him that looked familiar. Leah stared at the other half of his face, the unburnt part, remembering the memory that came back to her at the Hale house. He was the man she saw, but he looked older, almost as if he aged two times over while he was trying to heal himself. Leah took a step back, swallowing as her childhood fear of him came back to her in waves. She turned, walking out into the hallway as Derek started talking to Peter, not noticing that Leah had left.

Out in the hall, Leah slid down the wall, going into a fetal position on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and felt her eyes watering up as her stomach twisted. Leah shut her eyes tightly and took in a shaky breath, forcing herself to remember Peter. Her mind had been her worst enemy as of late and Leah was tired of being in the dark.

At the sound of an ambulance, Leah opened her eyes. She was still on the ground, but wasn't in the same hallway she had been in with Derek. Instead, she was on the main floor—where they brought trauma victims in or she figured she was; everything was a little fuzzy around the edges. Leah got to her feet, seeing the doors open and her brother running in first, looking worried.

"Connor?" Leah asked out, stepping forward as he ran past her.

The memory flexed and Leah realized that Connor was a teenager. There was a man coming in after Connor: Peter, with a body in his arms. Leah watched him run past her, looking down to see herself in his arms, covered in blood. There was a blossoming blood stain on her shirt, her arms were bleeding and her knees were all banged up. Leah glanced over as the memory flexed again, seeing a teenager version of Derek was running in after Peter.

 _"You're okay, you're okay."_ Leah heard Laura's voice and looked to see that Laura was next to Peter, holding Leah's bloodied hand.

Leah took in a breath and stepped back, her heart hammering against her chest as she took in the scene. She heard Derek's voice, repeating her name and his voice got louder, making Leah cringe. Shutting her eyes, Leah clapped her hands over her ears, trying to block out his voice so she could focus.

"Leah!" Derek shook Leah's shoulder, getting Leah to open her eyes and take in a deep breath.

"What happened?" Leah asked, snapping back to the present.

"You tell me." Derek prompted, helping Leah to her feet. He looked over his shoulder to see Peter's nurse glaring at them. Sighing, he turned Leah away and indicated for them to start walking. He was annoyed at the lack of Peter's response, but knew the nurse was right; he couldn't force Peter to talk to him.

"I—I was here." Leah's voice got him to look back at his friend's younger sister, "I mean, I guess I was here, it might have been somewhere else, the background was all fuzzy." Leah's brow furrowed.

"What wasn't fuzzy?" Derek asked.

"I was in Peter's arms, bleeding out from the side and my arms." Leah looked at her arms, seeing the a smatter of small markings on her wrists. She had always thought they were birthmarks; they were a lighter color than the rest of her skin, but she might have been wrong.

Derek knew exactly what Leah was talking about. He remembered the day, even though he wasn't there for what happened. Laura had called Derek in a panic, telling him to get Connor to the animal clinic; Leah had been in an accident.

"The memory ended before I figured out what happened." Leah looked up at Derek, looking crestfallen, "I was _so close_ to figuring it out." Leah looked away, frustrated with herself. "Goddamnit." Leah blew out a breath as the two of them walked out of the hospital. There was a piece of paper stuck under Derek's windshield wipers. He took it and looked at the picture.

"Get in the car." He seriously said, looking around the parking lot. Leah made a face and pulled the door open, sliding into the passenger seat as Derek started up the car.

"Did you get a parking ticket or something?" Leah asked, motioning to the paper that Derek had stuffed in the cup holder.

"No." He said. Leah reached for it, pulling it out and smoothing it out against the dash.

"What the fuck is this?" Leah asked, staring at the picture of the deer with a spiral on its dead body.

"A lead to the Alpha." Derek's jaw clicked as he sped down the street.

"What is this symbol though?" Leah asked, pointing at the spiral.

"It's nothing." Derek shook his head.

"Oh, _God_ , enough with the secrets!" Leah shouted at him, "Just tell me what it is!" Derek didn't say anything, just adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. Leah made a face at him and then pulled out her phone, taking a picture of the picture on the paper.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked.

"Asking someone who might know." Leah said, sending the picture to Connor. She shoved her phone back into her hoodie pocket. He let out a huff and pulled into the animal clinic parking lot.

"Are we picking up Scott?" Leah asked, "He doesn't get here for a few more minutes."

"Not exactly." Derek pushed out of the car. Leah did the same and followed him into the animal clinic. The sign said that it was closed, but that didn't seem to faze Derek as he pulled open the door and stepped inside. Leah sighed and followed after him. Her afternoon with Derek had been weird and Leah felt that it was about to get a lot weirder.

"Can I help you?" Deaton asked as Derek and Leah stepped into the examination room. Deaton's eyes darted down to Leah and he gave her a warm smile, "Leah." Leah gave him a small smile in return. She wasn't sure why Derek had brought her to the clinic and was wary as to what was about to happen.

"Hope so." Derek said before unfolding the paper that he had taken with him from the car, "Can you tell me more about the animal you found with the spiral on its side?"

"Excuse me? What animal?" Deaton asked, looking confused.

"Three months ago. The deer." Derek pushed out the picture at Deaton, "You remember this?"

"Oh, yes. It's just a deer. And I didn't find it. They called me because they wanted to know if I'd ever seen anything like it." Deaton shrugged, glancing from Derek to Leah.

"What'd you tell 'em?"

"I told them no." Deaton simply said. Derek glared at the vet.

"Did you hear that?" He asked, eyebrows raising.

"Hear what?" Deaton asked, looking around. Leah hadn't hear anything.

"The sound of your heartbeat rising."

"Excuse me?" Deaton asked.

Leah felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She turned around to look at the screen, ignoring Derek's response for a moment as she looked at Connor's text. Leah didn't fully read it because she was distracted by the sound of something hitting the table. She spun around to see that Deaton was on the ground, knocked out cold.

"Oh my God!" Leah cried out, " _Derek_!"

"He's the Alpha, Leah!"

"Uh, doubtful!" Leah yelled back, "Are you insane?"

"He knows what the symbol means." Derek started to lift Deaton up, placing him on the chair.

"No, no, Derek, he's not the Alpha." Leah put her hands up in the air. Derek shot her a look as Leah's phone buzzed again. She looked down to see that Connor was texting her again.

"Derek, just—don't do anything stupid." Leah said, holding up her hand and looking at her phone, "Please, just don't."

Leah stepped back from the room to look at Connor's messages:

 _Spirals usually mean revenge._

 _Where did you find this? What's going on?_

Leah went to text Connor back about what was going on at the animal shelter when the door chimed, signaling someone entering. She looked up to see Scott running in and she let out a sigh, going over to him,

"Scott, oh thank God, you've gotta get in there." Leah said, tugging on his arm. Scott looked confused as she pulled him into the examination room.

"What are you doing?!" Scott cried out as he saw the scene in front of them. Deaton was bound to a chair, cuts on his face.

"Scott, get out of here!" Deaton cried out, making Derek backhand him across the face so the vet was knocked unconscious.

"Stop! Stop!" Leah shouted out, hands up as she hurried over to Derek.

"Look, when he's conscious, he can keep himself from healing, but unconscious, he can't."

"Are you out of your mind? What are you talking about?" Scott asked, standing next to Leah.

"You want to know what the spiral means?" Derek asked, looking at the both of them, "It's our sign for a vendetta, for revenge." Connor was right, per usual, "It means he won't stop killing until he's satisfied."

"You think _he's_ the Alpha?" Scott asked, looking baffled.

"That's what I said!" Leah agreed with Scott. Derek's jaw clicked.

"We're about to find out." He lifted his arm to strike, but before he could, Scott's hand stopped him. Leah looked over at her friend, seeing that his face was wolfish and his eyes burned a bright gold. He shoved Derek back and his face shifted back to normal Scott.

"Hit him again, and then you'll see me get angry." Scott's voice was low.

Leah grinned to herself; he had learned how to control the shift. She stepped back and grabbed some antiseptic and a cotton-ball. She handed them over to Scott, letting him clean up his boss.

"Do you have a plan?" Derek asked as Scott dabbed at the wounds.

"Just give me an hour." Scott answered.

"Then what?" Derek asked.

"Meet me at the school." Scott threw out the cotton-ball and looked at Leah, "Come on." He reached out for her hand and she took his in hers, looking over at Derek.

"And bring the boss." Leah said, nodding at Derek. Derek nodded back at her, face serious.

"So you do know that your plans usually suck, right?" Leah asked as Scott and she got outside.

Leah let go of Scott's hand and went over to his bike. Her backpack was still in Derek's car and she went over to grab her things from the backseat, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. Leah looked over to Scott to see him giving her a look,

"No offense." She lamely added.

"We're gonna call Stiles and see what he thinks we should do." Scott said, mounting his bike. Leah got on the handlebars and perched herself on them as Scott pushed off.

"Why do we always call Stiles? Why can't I think of the plan?" Leah asked as Scott pedaled.

"Okay, well, do you have a plan?" Scott asked.

"Possibly." Leah said, coming up with a plan as she talked, "Alright, so you know how Derek told you that you're part of the Alpha's pack? Well, what if you called out to him. Like in the wild, howling signals wolves' locations to the rest of the pack, so if you howl loud enough, you could get him to come around."

"How would I howl loud enough?" Scott asked, "I haven't ever howled before."

"Use the loudspeaker." Leah said with a shrug, "I mean, we're meeting Derek at the school, so why not just break in and use the loudspeaker."

"That's a good plan, Leah."

"I know." Leah grinned to herself as they got to Stiles' house.

Leah described the plan to Stiles, laying out the small amount of steps as Scott and Stiles rummaged through the Stilinski basement, looking for the tools they needed.

"That's a…good plan." Stiles said afterwards, "Goddamnit."

"Yes!" Leah fist pumped and did a little dance. "And it doesn't involve Scott getting hurt." Leah pointed out, getting an eye roll from Stiles.

"But what are we gonna do if the Alpha shows up?" Stiles asked, pushing out of the crouch he had been in.

"We'll figure that out when we get there." Leah waved her hand around. "Let's just go."

"And you get mad at me for the lack of detail in my plans." Stiles mumbled.

"I know." Leah laughed and grabbed a flashlight from one of the boxes. Stiles grabbed a pair of bolt cutters and another flashlight.

* * *

An hour later, Stiles' Jeep pulled into the empty school parking lot. The sky was dark as Leah climbed out of the back hatch and brushed herself off as Stiles and Scott got out as well.

"The more that I think about this, the more that I think that this is a terrible idea." Stiles commented as the boys met her around the back of the Jeep.

"Yeah, I know." Scott sighed.

"Hey!" Leah protested, "You both said it was a good idea."

"In theory, yes, but now that we're here…"

"Can you think of something better?" Scott asked, glancing at Leah.

"Well, personally I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until eventually it just goes away." Stiles said, waving his arm around, "But obviously that hasn't been working." He gave a pointed a look to Leah.

"You haven't been trying hard enough." She said back, sticking out her tongue. Stiles made a face and mimicked Leah.

"Just make sure we can get inside." Scott cut off their back and forth.

"He's here." Leah said as Derek's Camaro pulled up.

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked as Derek got out of the Camaro.

"He's in the back." Derek said, jerking his head back.

"Oh, well, he looks comfortable." Stiles said, making a face. Then he and Scott shared a look before turning and walking off to the school. Leah hurried to catch up to them before being stopped by Derek's voice,

"Wait. Hey. What are you doing?"

"You said I was linked with the Alpha." Scott answered, "I'm gonna see if you're right." Leah saluted the werewolf before falling into step with her friends. Stiles cut the lock with his bolt cutters, leaving the cutters outside the door. Leah led the two of them down to the principal's office.

The school was dark and eerily quiet at night. The massive windows letting the light from the moon spill in as they walked down the hall. When they got to the office, Leah dug her hand under one of the outside waiting chairs, pulling out an extra key.

"What the—"

"Don't ask." Leah said, holding up her hand to Stiles' face. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, the boys following after her. Stiles went around Mrs. Richards' desk, getting the microphone set up.

"Oh, Mrs. Richards' daughter…" Stiles trailed off, looking at the picture of Mrs. Richards and her daughter.

"Stiles, focus, please." Leah said, pointing at the microphone.

"I didn't know she had a daughter." Stiles mused to himself.

"You're such a creep." Leah gagged and shoved him to the side, "She doesn't even go here. She goes to some private school outside of town."

"Oh, and I'm the creep?"

"Mrs. Richards and I talk when I'm in here." Leah simply said, flicking up the buttons.

"Okay, one question." Stiles said, looking to Scott, "What are you gonna do if the Alpha doesn't show up?"

"I don't know." Scott answered.

"And what are you gonna do if he does show up?"

"That's two questions." Leah sang out. Stiles glared at her.

"I don't know." Scott sighed out.

"Good plan." Stiles nodded and then he shook his head, "You said that a wolf howls to signal his position to the rest of the pack, right?" Leah nodded, "Right, but if you bring him here, does that make you part of his pack?"

"I hope not." Scott looked around the dark office.

"Yeah, me too." Stiles mumbled as Leah picked up the microphone and set it in front of Scott.

"Alright." Leah gave him an encouraging smile, "All you." Scott took in a deep breath and leaned forward, letting out a whiny noise that could only be described as pathetic. Leah cringed as Scott finished out his so called "howl."

"Was that okay?" Scott asked as he finished, "I mean, that was a howl, right?" Stiles and Leah shared a look as Leah shoved a hand through her hair.

"I—yeah, technically." Stiles said, scrubbing his head with his hand.

"Well, what did it sound like to you?" Scott asked.

"Like a cat being choked to death, Scott." Stiles immediately responded. Scott groaned and rolled his head back. Leah chewed on her bottom lip as Stiles moved around the desk.

"What do I do? How am I supposed to do this?" Scott whined.

"Hey, hey." Stiles went over to his friend, "Listen to me. You're calling the Alpha. All right? Be a man." Stiles rubbed his shoulders, giving him a pep talk, "Be a werewolf, not a _teen_ wolf. A _werewolf_." Stiles patted Scott's back.

"Werewolf." Leah whispered at Scott, giving him a wink and pushing the microphone forward a bit, "Do it." Scott gripped the microphone and Leah saw his eyes turn a pulsing gold as he let out a roar. Leah felt herself shiver as Scott's roar echoed through the school. Stiles' eyes met hers and both of them couldn't help but share a smile as Scott's roar died off.

"I'm gonna kill all three of you." Derek growled out as they walked out of the school, "What the _hell_ was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"

"Sorry." Scott lamely said, "I didn't know it would be that loud."

"Yeah, it was loud." Leah snorted, rocking back on her heels.

"And it was _awesome_!" Stiles added on, fist bumping Leah.

"Shut up." Derek seriously said.

"Don't be such a sour wolf." Leah motioned out to Derek with the flashlight. Derek sighed; her and Connor were more alike than she realized.

"What'd you do with him?" Scott asked, looking at Derek's Camaro.

"What?" Derek stepped up closer to Leah and looked over his shoulder to show them that Deaton was no longer in the car, "I didn't do anything." Leah looked around for the missing vet, stopping when she heard Scott's sharp intake of breath. Leah heard the sound of something entering Derek's body and looked up just in time to see blood spurting from his mouth, landing on Leah. Leah flinched as she looked up at Derek.

She felt her stomach drop as Derek was lifted high above them, body spazzing as blood came from him. Leah couldn't move; she was frozen, eyes wide, watching as Derek's body was tossed to the side, like a ragdoll, revealing the beast that attacked her and Jackson at the video store, expect much closer. It was bigger, and more terrifying than Leah remembered. The beast let out a roar and Leah heard Scott and Stiles scampering off.

" _Leah!_ " Stiles' voice pierced through the air, "Run, you asshole!" Stiles' voice got Leah to move, but instead of following them, Leah ran onto the grassy area outside of the school, straight into the woods.

* * *

A/N: If you have any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage, let me know!


	16. Survival of the Fittest

Leah's feet slipped against the forest floor as she tried to get away from the school; the sneakers she had on didn't have very good traction. She found that her breathing was coming fast as she darted around trees and cleared fallen logs. Leah didn't know where she was going or where she was; she was acting purely on instinct. The flashlight Leah was holding bounced off the trees, giving her some sense of what to avoid in order to not run into a tree.

Derek's blood was still on her and Leah could feel it running down her face. She slipped and lost her balance, grabbing onto the nearest tree branch so she didn't fall on her ass. Leah took that as a sign to stop running and catch her breath. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she tried to calm down. Leah ran her hand over her face, feeling Derek's blood and she started to panic, holding her hand out in front of herself. She shined the flashlight on her hand, seeing that that it was stained with red.

"Oh, oh, oh—" Leah stuttered out, turning her hand around, still panicking as she looked at her hand.

Her stomach rolled and Leah gagged at the scent and sight of blood. She turned to the side, throwing up whatever she had eaten earlier in the day. Leah spat, grimacing at the aftertaste. She closed her eyes and took a step back, feeling the world begin to spin. Leah heard Laura's voice in her head, telling her that she was making a mess. Her voice faded out with a laugh as an unfamiliar voice echoed around saying that it was only flour, the voice was cut off by Laura's laugh. With the voices in Leah's head, she felt like it was going to explode and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Shut up!" Leah cried out, hands going to her head.

The sound of her phone buzzing made Leah jump and drop the flashlight in the process. The voices were gone. The only noise coming from her phone. Leah let her eyes open and slowly breathed out as her hands went for her pockets, trying to find her phone. She pulled it out to see Stiles' name on the screen; he was calling her. Her fingers pressed against the screen, trying to answer it.

"Come on." Leah grumbled as her fingers slipped against the screen, blood smearing against it, "Come on!" She hysterically cried out, pushing down on the answer button. It didn't work and the call went to voicemail.

"No!" Leah cried out, moving her fingers around the screen to try and get Stiles' name to come up. She managed to get the call working again and pressed the phone to her ear.

" _Why didn't you answer?"_ Stiles' voice snapped as he picked up. Leah felt a sense of relief go through her; if he could sass her, he was okay. Leah looked around herself, scared that the Alpha was lurking in the woods with her.

"There was blood on my fingers! The—the touchscreen wouldn't work!" She blubbered out.

" _Where are you?"_ Stiles moved on. It sounded like he was running.

"In the woods. I—I have no idea where—Derek's blood is on me—"

" _Calm down! Leah!"_ Stiles cut her off, " _You have to go get help. It trapped us in here_."

"Is Scott okay?" Leah asked, "Where's the Alpha?"

" _It killed the janitor. Leah, go get help—!"_ Leah heard something crash in the background and Stiles' call abruptly cut off.

She pulled her phone away from her ear to see that the screen was dark and she let out a frustrated cry. Leah wiped her hands on her pants, trying to rub the blood off of them. Her phone started buzzing again and Leah looked to see that it was Allison. Leah tried to calm herself down before she answered it.

"Hey." Leah said, letting a slow breath as she tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong.

" _Hey, Leah. Are you with Scott?_ " Allison asked.

"Uh, no." Leah looked around herself, for any sign of the Alpha. Leah bent down and picked up the flashlight she had dropped before heading back the way she ran, trying to get to the school, or a road, or something. "Why?"

" _We were supposed to study tonight, but he hasn't shown up._ "

"Oh, I, uh, I have no idea where he could be." Leah lied.

" _Can you have him call me if you see him?_ " Allison asked.

"Yeah." Leah pushed through some branches and saw the school a little ways ahead. "Bye, Ally." Leah hung up with Allison and carefully walked out of the woods.

She looked around the grassy area, seeing that there was no sign of the Alpha. Leah scampered across the lawn, heading towards where the Alpha tossed Derek. She ducked behind the school sign, peeking over it to make sure the coast was clear before darting around it. Derek was lying on the ground on the other side of the school sign which proclaimed that the building was Beacon Hills High.

"Derek?" Leah whispered out. She dropped to her knees, hovering over him. His eyes were blank and staring straight ahead, blood drying at the corners of his mouth. Leah let her flashlight move over his features, getting no response.

"Derek?" Leah repeated herself, eyes going wide as she looked over his body. "Please don't be dead." She leaned her ear down to his chest. Leah held her breath, trying to listen for a heartbeat.

"Come on." Leah pressed her hand against his stomach and shook him a little, trying to get him to say something. "Please." Leah heard her voice crack. She had never been so nervous or worried about someone's life like this before.

Leah heard a roar followed by a crash, which made her turn to look at the school. It looked like nothing was happening, but inside she knew that Scott and Stiles were in serious danger.

"Come on." Leah struggled, trying to lift him up and move him.

Leah ended up dragging Derek's body over to a tree, forcing him to sit up against it so she could look at him. He looked dead. He probably was dead. Leah chewed on her bottom lip and pushed to her feet as she heard another roar from the school. She looked over her shoulder, realizing she had to get help. She had to get her mom.

Casting one last glance at Derek's lifeless body, Leah turned, running away from the school. As she ran, she silently thanked Finstock for making them run suicides and laps during every practice. Leah easily ran home from school, the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she ran. She sprinted up the walkway to her house and burst inside.

"Mom!?" Leah cried out, looking in the living room and then in the dining room, "Mom!" She called out, running into the kitchen.

"Hey, woah." Connor came out of the downstairs bathroom, "What's—" He abruptly stopped when he saw his sister.

"Is Mom here?" Leah asked, breathing heavily. Connor stared at her, brows furrowing in concern as he took in his sister's appearance. She had blood all over her, grass stains on her pants and a few scratches around her body, "Connor!" Connor flinched and snapped back to attention.

"No, she's at work." Connor shook his head, "What happened to you?" Connor reached out to her as Leah felt tears welling up. She stomped her foot before bolting out of the kitchen.

"Leah!" Connor yelled after her. He ran after Leah and grabbed her, spinning her around.

"Connor! Let me go!" Leah tried to wrench out of his grasp, but Connor held tight.

"What is going on!?" Connor yelled at Leah. Leah shook her head and blinked tears out of her eyes as she took in a shaky breath.

"The—The Alpha attacked us!" Leah managed out, "There was an Alpha attack at the school!" Connor's eyes went wide as Leah continued, "It killed Derek and trapped Scott and Stiles in the school—Connor! I have to go get help! It's going to kill them!" Leah pleaded with her brother. Connor's grip relaxed slightly and Leah took the opportunity to pull away from her brother, turning and sprinting out of the house.

Connor blinked, still processing what his sister had told him. Then it all came crashing down on him—Derek was killed by the Alpha, it had trapped his sister's best friends in the school to hunt them down like prey.

"Shit." Connor whispered to himself before grabbing his keys and heading out of the house.

Connor, usually, was a cautious driver, but he found himself barely pausing at stop signs as he tried to get to the school as fast as he could. Quickly parking his car, Connor spotted three other cars in the parking lot: Derek's Camaro, Stiles' Jeep, and another car he didn't recognize. He got out of the car and went over to Derek's Camaro, seeing that there was no sign of Derek inside the car. Turning, he spotted a slumped over figure against the base of a tree.

Jogging over to the figure, Connor could make out that it was Derek. Connor squatted in front of his best friend, seeing the wound from the Alpha's claws and the amount of blood it had produced. Connor chewed on his bottom lip before smacking Derek's cheek, "Come on, dude, you've been through worse." Connor mumbled to himself.

He let out a sigh and let his eyes go over Derek's body. Leaning closer, Connor inspected the wound, moving away Derek's tattered shirt. He let his hand trace over the claw marks, seeing how deep they went and how close they were to the heart. Connor sat back on his butt, bringing his knees up as he clasped his hands in front of his face, trying not to cry.

Then a roar went through the air and Connor's head whipped to the side, looking to the school. That's when he remembered Leah saying something about Scott and Stiles being trapped in the school. Connor was worried about what the Alpha had in store for his sister's best friend, but he knew it wasn't good. Getting to his feet, Connor noticed the second, unfamiliar car and thought back to the night he picked up Leah from the video store and slowly, he began to realize the Alpha's plans. It needed Scott to be a part of his pack, but first Scott needed to get rid of those holding him back: Stiles, Leah, whoever's car was in the parking lot.

Connor looked to the school, taking in a deep breath; whoever was in there was playing a dangerous game of survival of the fittest. He took a few steps towards the school, but before he could do anything, Derek suddenly took in a deep breath, coughing as he came back to life. Connor whirled around and then slumped down in relief.

"Oh thank God." Connor laughed looking back at Derek. "I'm gonna kill you." He seriously said as he walked back to Derek.

Derek let out something resembling a laugh in response. Connor helped Derek up and let his best friend lean on him as the two of them got back to Derek's car. Connor cast a nervous look to the school, hoping that Leah had gotten to their mom and would somehow convince the sheriff and their mom to come to the school.

* * *

Leah took the stairs outside of the police station two at a time, not pausing as she yanked open the front door and ran past the front desk, not bothering to ask to go back into the office areas. Leah skidded to a stop in front of her mom's desk, getting her mother to look up, rather startled. Taking in a deep breath, Leah realized she had actually _ran_ all the way to the station. Tara looked up from her desk and got a good luck at Leah.

"Oh my God." Leah and Tara both said at the same time; both of them surprised, but for different reasons.

"Leah, what happened?" Tara asked, standing up from the desk.

"I just—" Leah took in a breath, "I ran from the house."

"Why?"

Getting her bearings, Leah blinked, coming down from her running high. And then she remembered what was happening. Her eyes went wide and she took in a deep breath,

"Mom, you have to help."

"What happened to you?" Tara moved around her desk, going to look over Leah. Leah was shaking like a leaf, covered in blood, as she took in a few deep breaths.

"School—There was this—" Leah took in another breath, "Scott and Stiles—"

"What about Scott and Stiles?" Tara put her hand on Leah's shoulder, guiding Leah over to the row of chairs, "Leah, what is going on?" She sat Leah down in the chair, but Leah instantly got up, still shaking.

"We have to go to the school." Leah managed out.

"Why?"

"Mom!" Leah cried out, stomping her foot in frustration, "Mom, something bad is happening! Scott and Stiles are trapped in the school!"

"How?" Tara asked, not understanding Leah. It was obvious something had happened, but Leah wasn't making any sense. Leah let out a frustrated cry and felt her head tip back, tears flowing freely.

"Why do you have to ask so many _questions_!?" Leah cried out.

"Because I want to know what's going on!" Tara raised her voice, "Now, tell me— _calmly_ tell me, what happened." Tara said, putting her hands out in front of herself and then motioning to the seat. Leah stayed standing. She sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her cheek against her shoulder.

"We were at school late after practice—" Leah swallowed, trying to come up her lie, blinking back tears. "And then we were walking out of the locker room when the janitor caught us—he...he started lecturing us—" Leah looked up at her mom, gauging her reaction. She needed to get her mom to believe her, and she needed to finish her lie so they could get back to the school before the Alpha killed Scott, "And then his blood was on me and I ran...I ran one way and the guys ran another." Leah whispered, finishing her lie, "And I ran home, trying to find you."

"Did you see who killed the janitor?" Tara asked. Leah shook her head, "Is that his blood on you?" Leah hesitated before bursting out into tears.

"Mom!" Leah's voice was raw, "Mom, please just help me! My friends are in danger!"

Leah shook out her hands and started pacing. Tara watched Leah pace, seeing how anxious and nervous she looked. Leah wasn't one to worry about anyone except herself, so if she was reacting this way, Tara knew something seriously bad had happened. Tara nodded and got up from her seat, going over to her desk and taking her jacket off of her chair, wrapping it around Leah's shoulders.

"Stay here, okay?" Tara said, staring at Leah, "I'll go get the sheriff and then we'll go. It'll be okay." Tara gave Leah a sad smile and rubbed Leah's shoulders and Leah sniffed, nodding in response.

"Tara." Leah heard the sheriff's voice say from behind her. Leah looked over to him and saw that his face was pale, "Stiles just called. He and a few of his friends are trapped at the school." Leah's brow furrowed when the sheriff mentioned Stiles saying _a few friends_. She wondered who else could be in the school with them. Tara turned to look at Leah and Leah took in a shaky breath.

"Come on." Tara wrapped her arm around Leah's shoulders and walked her out of her office. Leah followed her mom and the sheriff out of the station and got in the passenger seat of her mom's cruiser. Tara flicked her lights and siren on and sped off behind the sheriff's car.

The entire drive to the school, Leah spent tapping her fingers against her thigh. She kept thinking about Derek and about how he was killed right in front of her. His blood was on Leah's hands, on her face, on her clothes. And the Alpha had trapped Scott and Stiles in the school. Leah had no idea what the Alpha was going to make Scott do, but she knew it wasn't going to be good.

It was Leah's fault Derek was dead. She had come up with the stupid plan. She had sentenced her friends to a certain death while she ran away. Stiles was right; Leah was useless.

"Stay here." Tara said as she parked her cruiser in the school parking lot.

Leah barely managed a nod before Tara was out of the car, hurrying to go up to the sheriff, hand on her holster. Leah looked out the window, looking to the school sign, then letting her eyes travel to the tree where she left Derek. There was no sign of him or his dead body. Her heart contracted at the thought that he could be alive. His car was still in the parking lot, which meant that he was on foot.

Glancing away from Derek's Camaro, Leah saw Jackson's Porsche sitting in the parking lot. She felt her brow furrow, not knowing _why_ Jackson would be at the school, but then she noticed that there was someone leaning against Jackson's car and Leah pushed out of the police cruiser, trying to figure out who it was as she got closer to the figure.

"Dr. Deaton?" Leah called out as she jogged over to him, a paramedic following her, "Oh my God, you're not the Alpha." Leah muttered under her breath as she looked over him; he still had the cuts and bruises that Derek gave him earlier in the evening.

"Are you okay?" She asked a bit louder as she helped him to his feet.

"Now I am." Deaton nodded at Leah and a paramedic took Leah's place, helping him over to the ambulance. Leah rubbed her hands together and glanced around Derek's car, looking for clues, but she came up empty.

Leah let out a sigh and went over to Stiles' Jeep, noticing that the hood was crumpled up. She clicked on the flashlight she was still holding and looked over the claw marks that dragged down the top of the hood. Her fingers lightly dragged down the scratches before she stepped back.

The double doors to the front of the school opened and Leah whirled around to see Allison, Jackson and Lydia being escorted out by Tara. Leah pushed up on her tiptoes, trying to see if Scott and Stiles were coming out as well. Allison saw Leah and broke out into a jog to get to her friend.

"Oh my God, Leah." Allison said, throwing her arms around Leah, "Thank God, you're okay." She said, hugging Leah tight. Leah hugged her back and then stepped back, noticing her tear stained face.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, brow furrowing.

"Scott texted me, asking me to come to the school." Allison explained, "But it wasn't really him, but we didn't know until it was too late."

"Oh my God." Leah managed out, realizing that the Alpha had lured Allison to the school. She wasn't sure why, but Leah knew it wasn't good.

"Stiles said that Derek tried to get you, but you got away. After he killed the janitor right in front of you guys." Allison was concerned as she looked around Leah, taking in the cuts and scrapes.

"Derek?" Leah asked, brow furrowing.

"He was the one who trapped us in the school." Allison said, as if Leah should know, "He killed his sister, the bus driver, and the guy at the video store _and_ the janitor." Leah blinked at Allison before shaking her head.

"No, Allison—" Leah started and then she heard the sheriff's voice.

"You sure it was Derek Hale?" Leah looked over Allison's shoulder to see the sheriff walking out with Scott and Stiles. She felt something inside of her relax, the knot that had created itself in the past hours, coming undone when she saw Stiles and Scott.

"I'll talk to you later." Leah said, eyes trained on her best friend. Leah brushed past Allison and started towards the boys before breaking out into a run. She ran across the parking lot and then stopped when she got to the three of them. Leah looked from Scott to Stiles, both of them staring back at her.

"Thank God you idiots are okay." Leah laughed out, letting out a sigh of relief. Leah launched herself at Scott, hugging him tight. She felt Scott's arms go around her and he pressed Leah to his chest, hugging her just as tight.

"We were so worried." He mumbled in Leah's ear.

Leah smiled to herself before stepping back. She glanced at Stiles before pushing up on her toes and hugging him, without even thinking; she was just so relieved he was okay. Leah wrapped her arms around his neck, stretching up a bit, and she felt him stiffen for a split second before relaxing into her hug. His hand went around Leah's waist, and she rested her chin on Stiles' shoulder feeling rather awkward but she couldn't help but smile a little at the feeling of Stiles' hands settling at her hips.

Leah stepped back first, pulling her head back and realizing how close she was to his mouth. There was a beat as Leah let out a slow breath, eyes darting up from Stiles' lips to his eyes, seeing him staring back down at her. Leah gave him a small smile before falling down onto the step below the one the boys were standing on. Although both of them were unaware of it, in that moment, everything between the two of them began to change.

Stiles gave Leah a small smile and went to scratch the back of his neck. Leah glanced over to Scott and reached out to him, getting him to reach back out to her, hands brushing against each other in acknowledgment as the two best friends gave each other small smiles. Someone called for the sheriff and the sheriff looked at the three teens, motioning to them,

"Stay." He instructed, "All three of you." The three of them nodded and watched the sheriff walk away. Leah turned to the boys, facing them head on. Stiles was leaning against the side railing, eyeing her.

"You're covered in blood." He stated

"The Niagara Falls of Blood was a little earlier than expected." Leah joked.

"Why can't you just be normal and say period?" Stiles asked, moving his shoulders up.

"Because I'm not normal." Leah made her eyes wide.

"No kidding." Stiles scoffed, "You're covered in blood." Leah tried not to smile at him, but failed when Stiles gave her a small smile. She couldn't help but give one back before ducking her head down and looking over to Scott.

"Well, we survived, dude." Stiles sighed out, "You know? We outlasted the Alpha." Leah nodded and gave Scott an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, it's good that you didn't, you know, die at school. Alive to see another school day." Leah joked, trying to get the serious look off of Scott's face. Scott didn't react and Stiles shifted against the railing, glancing at Leah before looking at Scott.

"It's still good, right? Being alive?" Stiles asked, noticing that Scott didn't look too sure or as relieved as Leah.

"When we were in the chemistry room, he walked right by us. You don't think that it heard us? You don't think it knew exactly where we were?" Leah tilted her head to the side and glanced at Stiles, who nervously swallowed.

"Well, then how come we're still alive?"

"It wants me in its pack. But I think, first I have to get rid of my old pack."

"Old pack?" Leah asked, getting Scott to look at her, "What old pack?"

"Allison. Jackson, Lydia. _You_." Scott nodded to Stiles, "And _you_." He looked at Leah. She chewed on her bottom lip, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The Alpha doesn't wanna kill us..." Stiles started.

"It wants me to do it." Scott finished, "And that's not even the worst part." Scott shook his head and looked away from them.

"How in _holy hell_ is that not the worst part, Scott?!" Stiles flailed a bit.

"Because when he made me shift, I wanted to do it. I wanted to kill you. All of you." Scott said, voice low. Leah felt herself shiver. Stiles lifted his chin up, squinting at Scott.

Scott noticed someone behind Stiles and moved past them. Leah watched him go, seeing that he was headed over to Deaton. She watched him talk to his boss for a moment before feeling Stiles nudge her. She looked over to him and raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you." He said, "For getting help." Leah nodded at him.

"I didn't do it for you." Leah said, lifting her chin up a bit, "I did it for Scott."

"Good." Stiles nodded, blowing out a breath as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Wouldn't want to owe you my life or anything."

"You don't owe me anything." Leah laughed, uncrossing her arms from her chest. She glanced over to Stiles to see him smile a bit before looking down at his shoes.

"So, uh, what happened in there?" Leah asked, "And don't tell me what you told your dad. I want the whole story." Leah said, stepping down and sitting on the step. Stiles followed suit and blew out a breath.

He launched into the story about what actually happened in the school. The janitor being killed, the boiler room—where they trapped the Alpha momentarily. He told Leah about Allison, Lydia and Jackson showing up, about the Chemistry room. And then how Scott locked them in the Chemistry room before Tara, Leah and Stiles' dad showed up.

"Were you Lydia's _knight in shining armor_?" Leah asked. Stiles glared at her and then pointedly glanced to where Lydia and Jackson stood by Jackson's car. Leah rolled her eyes and leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Scott locked you in the classroom?" Leah asked. Stiles nodded, rubbing his hands together. "He was protecting you." She realized, "From the Alpha. From himself."

"Allison doesn't see it that way." Stiles said, pointing his hands to where Allison and Scott stood, talking.

"She's breaking up with him." Leah figured from the way she was standing, and the way Scott was reaching out to her. "Understandable." Leah nodded.

"Sucks." Stiles sighed out. He paused for a moment before asking, "What happened with you? Where'd you run off to?" Leah looked back at Stiles to see him looking at her, eyebrows raised a little. Leah took in a breath and then told Stiles about her night. He listened to her story, not interrupting or giving any snide remarks, he just listened.

"Well, it looks like we both had a shit night." Stiles sighed out when Leah was finished.

"It's all my fault." Leah quietly said, staring ahead, " _I_ came up with the plan, _I_ brought the Alpha here and it _mauled_ Derek. And then almost killed all of you." Leah looked over to Stiles, her eyes filling with tears, "And I _ran away_." Leah emphasized, "This was all my fault, Stiles." Stiles looked at her, pulling in his lower lip as he took in a breath through his nose.

"No," Stiles said, shaking his head slightly. "It's not your fault."

He reached out to Leah, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against the side of his body. If it was any other night, Leah would've flinched away, or gotten out of his grasp, but Leah accepted the small action of comfort.

"You got help." Stiles continued, rubbing his hand around Leah's shoulder, "You got help. They weren't listening to us." Stiles said. Leah stayed quiet for a moment before picking up her head to look at Stiles. Stiles removed his arm from around her shoulders as she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Derek's not dead." Leah told him, changing the subject, "He was over there—" She pointed to the tree she had leaned Derek against, "When I ran off and now he's not."

"And we blamed the janitor's murder and everything that happened tonight on him." Stiles sighed. Leah let out a little laugh and shifted on the stairs.

"We seem to blame a lot on him." She realized, brows furrowing.

"It's easier to." Stiles simply said, "Better him than us." Leah rolled her eyes, smiling a little. Stiles glanced at her before looking down at the ground.

"So when I called you—" He started.

"I couldn't answer it!" Leah cried out, laughing, "I tried _so_ hard, but I had blood on my fingers and the touchscreen wouldn't work!" Leah raised her hands up in front of his face. Stiles swatted them away from her, laughing a bit.

"Stop, I don't need Derek's blood on my face." Stiles grimaced, pushing Leah's hands away. Leah snorted and looked at her hands, seeing that they were stained red; blood under her fingernails.

"Stiles, what are we going to do?" Leah quietly asked. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and looked at him, "What are we going to do about Scott?"

"Well, right now, it looks like we need to cheer him up." Stiles nodded his head to where Scott was standing, all alone, as Allison hurried off to her dad's car.

Leah screwed her mouth to the side and watched as Scott turned back to look at them. She got off the steps and jogged over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing the side of her face against his chest. He stood there, not hugging Leah back. Leah heard someone come up behind her and looked over to see Stiles standing behind her. He reached out and patted Scott's shoulder, giving him a sad smile. Then the pat turned into a bro-hug, Leah in the middle of the boys.

* * *

Once everyone's stories were situated, Tara drove Leah and Scott back to their respective houses. Leah hugged Scott one more time before he jogged up to his house. Tara took Leah home and left Leah to her own devices; Leah insisted that she was fine, just needed to shower and go to bed. Tara offered to stay with Leah, but Leah knew her mom needed to get to the station to start filing the report of the incident.

Leah climbed the stairs, heading to Connor's room, only to find that the bedroom light was off and there was no sign of him. His car wasn't even in the driveway. Leah screwed her mouth to the side and sent a quick text to her brother, asking him where he was. She stepped back from his room and went into the bathroom to shower.

After her very long, hot shower, Leah stepped out of the bathtub to see her phone lighting up with a text. She wrapped a towel around her body and went for her phone, thinking it was Connor, but instead Stiles' name was displayed on the screen.

 _my dad's headed back to the station with your mom. if you need anything, let me know_

Leah let a small smile grace her features as she stared at the text. She screwed her mouth to the side before texting Stiles back: _you're forgetting i have my vicious cat to scare away any murderous alphas._

Stiles' response was immediate: _oh yes, i forgot that cats were the alpha's sworn mortal enemies._

Leah shook her head at Stiles' response, walking out of the bathroom as she continued the conversation.

* * *

A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns, or cries of outrage?


	17. Search for a Cure

School was closed the next day, for obvious reasons. So Leah spent the day in bed, Webster by her side as she watched made her way through the first season of _Leverage_. Her family didn't bother her too much; in fact, Connor's car was still missing from the driveway. Leah's mom was working on figuring out what happened at the school and gathering up a task force to find Derek, while her dad started taking classes to get his nursing degree so he could make a little more money. Leah and her dad didn't get a chance to talk about the incident at the school; Leah was asleep by the time Drew came home and Drew didn't want to bother her.

Her dad got home from his class around four and knocked on Leah's door before opening it slightly to stick his arm through the doorway. Leah glanced over to see that in his hand was a plate that had a grilled cheese resting on it. She sighed and looked away, "No thanks." She said, getting Drew to retract his hand before she stopped him, "Wait, yes." Leah pushed her laptop off of her stomach as her dad came into the bedroom.

He got in the bed next to Leah and laid on his side, placing the grilled cheese in the space between them. Webster scampered out of the bed, happy for an escape from Leah's bedroom. Leah reached for half of the grilled cheese, only to have her dad take the half she was reaching for and take a bit out of it.

"Oh, did you want one?" He asked, noticing Leah's look. Leah rolled her eyes and took the other half of the grilled cheese, taking a small bite from the corner.

"Do you want to tell me what happened last night?" Drew asked after a moment. Leah blinked at him, staying silent for a moment before she took another bite, beginning to tell the same story she had told her mom around a mouthful of sandwich. Drew listened, nodding sometimes, but never interrupting.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Drew said when Leah was finished, "Must have been terrifying." Drew motioned to her with the crust of his grilled cheese before finishing it off. Leah chewed on her last bite, nodding slowly,

"Would've been more terrifying if I was stuck in the school." Leah admitted as she shifted on her bed. Drew gave her a sad smile and nodded.

"I hated being so…scared." Leah continued, "Feeling like everything was out of my control. I—I couldn't do anything."

"You got help."

"Yeah, great." Leah scoffed, feeling tears well up. Leah tried to roll her eyes, not wanting to cry, "I couldn't help them myself."

"You felt powerless." Drew realized, nodding. Leah nodded back.

"I just wanted to do something, _anything_. But all I did was run. I didn't fight back or anything." Leah shook her head, "I was so defenseless." She wiped her eyes with her hand, " _God_."

"It's okay, Lele." Drew said, reaching over to rub Leah's shoulder, "It's okay. You always put on this tough face, and it's okay to let that fall away." Drew gave her a small smile, "You don't have to be a hard-ass all the time."

"I feel like you just insulted me." Leah laughed, wiping away her tears. Her dad was still smiling that small grin.

"You did the right thing last night. You saved your friends." Drew reminded her. She gave him a small smile and nodded. Her dad rubbed her shoulder again and then rolled off of the bed. He let out an exaggerated groan as he pushed to his feet.

"Do you plan on leaving your room anytime soon?" He asked Leah. She shook her head and her dad nodded at her. "Sounds good." He patted the bed before walking out of Leah's room, shutting the door behind him.

Leah laid in bed for a few minutes, her laptop just background noise as the sun set outside of her window. She felt her phone buzz under her pillow and she moved her hand to grab it. Stiles' name was displayed on the screen and Leah felt something that she could only describe as worms moving around in her stomach. She took in a breath and tapped her finger against the green button to answer the call.

"Hey." Leah said, putting the phone on her chest and pressing the speaker button.

 _"What are you doing tonight?"_

"Currently working my way through the first season of _Leverage_." Leah answered, shifting a little on her bed, glancing at her laptop.

" _Weak_." Stiles scoffed out.

"Okay, I'm doing a rewatch." Leah shot back, "So I'm trying to make it last."

 _"Whatever. Anyway, I've been doing some research—"_

"Typical." Leah groaned.

 _"And I found this guy, this doctor, who might have a cure for Scott."_ Stiles ignored Leah's comment, " _Since Derek's dead—"_

"He's not dead." Leah shook her head, "I refuse to believe that."

 _"Cause you're in love with him."_

"No! God, no!" Leah immediately responded, feeling the back of her neck heat up at Stiles' accusation.

" _Fine, then since he's_ ** _missing_** _, I figure this is our best shot."_

"So you want me to come with." Leah figured.

 _"That's what I was getting to, yes."_ Stiles sighed out.

"I'll have to check my calendar…" Leah heard Stiles let out a frustrated yell and she smiled to herself, "I'll be over in fifteen." She said, pushing the covers off of herself.

Leah hung up with Stiles and picked her phone off of her chest, getting to her feet. She didn't bother changing, just threw a flannel over her tanktop and stayed in her yoga pants. Leah pushed her feet into a pair of sneakers and grabbed a baseball cap to put over her knotty hair.

"I thought you weren't leaving your room?" Drew asked as she came down the stairs.

"Well, I—I mean…I was just gonna go over Stiles' and hang out with the boys." Leah paused on the bottom step, "Is that okay?"

"Since when do you ask before doing things?" Drew gave Leah an easy smile, "Go. Be safe." Drew pointed at her, "Back before curfew." Leah nodded and gave him a salute before reaching down to grab her skateboard. Leah went out the front door, closing it behind her before jogging down the steps.

Being out in the dark after the Alpha attack made Leah's stomach roll. She had this sense of dread, remembering what it felt like to be running for her life down the same street she was skateboarding down to get to Stiles'. But it was different now. Her friends weren't in danger, there was no impending doom. At least not at the current point in time.

The sheriff's cruiser wasn't in the driveway when Leah stepped off of her skateboard. She reached down to pick it up and jogged up the walkway to Stiles' house. Leah knocked twice before Stiles opened the door, stepping out. He was dressed in a plain white tee and a flannel over it. He had his own baseball cap on, wearing it backwards. Leah squinted at him.

"We're matching." She realized, "Go change."

"No." Stiles immediately said, "Come on." He said, locking the door behind him.

"Where are we going?" Leah asked, following him down the steps and to his Jeep.

"On a search. For a cure." Stiles glanced at Leah, who made a face at him, "To find the doctor I was telling you about." Stiles gave a better explanation, getting a nod from Leah before she went around the front of the Jeep, getting into the passenger seat.

On the way to the hospital, where the doctor worked, Stiles told Leah all about Dr. Fenris' research. About how he spent fifteen plus years on trying to convince the world that werewolves existed.

"Let me guess." Leah said, rolling her head to look at Stiles, "Everyone thought he was crazy."

"Yep, pretty much." Stiles nodded, "He dropped off the face of the Earth, changed his name to Fenris—"

"But doesn't that actually mean _wolf_?" Leah felt her brow furrow. Stiles glanced at her.

"I thought I was gonna surprise you with that one." Stiles mumbled, running a hand over his mouth. Leah shrugged.

"You're not the only one with a werewolf best friend." Leah simply said. Stiles nodded at her and focused back on the road. "Have you, uh, heard anything from Derek?" She innocently asked.

"Why do you care?" Stiles shot back.

"Because, I mean, he's our residential werewolf and if he's missing then we have some serious issues."

"Well, I haven't had my Derek beeper go off." Leah glared at Stiles, "So I'm going with _he's still missing_."

"Why do you always have to make a big deal out of these things?" Leah asked as Stiles turned a corner, "Why couldn't you have just said _no_?"

"Because it's more fun to annoy you." Stiles quipped, head swinging around to look at her. Leah made a face at him as the Jeep pulled into a parking lot. Stiles parked the Jeep and Leah settled back, putting her foot up on the dash. Stiles swatted her foot down and gave her a look.

"So no school until Monday." Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hallelujah." Stiles answered, "I'm taking Scott out on Sunday night."

"To do what?" Leah asked, squinting.

"To help him forget Allison." Stiles scoffed.

"I'm coming." Leah said, pushing up in her seat. Stiles snorted and shook his head.

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!" Leah shouted back.

"It's a guys' night, Leah! You're not coming!"

"Oh, so now I'm suddenly a girl?" Leah asked back, "After all those times telling me that I'm more guy than girl and all of a sudden—"

"Fine!" Stiles cut Leah off, "You can come. Just shut up." He hissed out. Leah gave him a smug smile and sat back in her seat. She heard something fall on top of the roof and glanced up.

"Hey." Scott's voice said, making Leah jump. Leah hit her head on the ceiling of the Jeep and let out a cry of pain.

"Jesus, Scott!" Leah cried out, rubbing her head.

"Sorry." Scott said, amused smile falling from his face. Leah rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"It's fine. Move so I can get out." Scott jumped off of the Jeep and Leah pushed the car door out, landing on her feet. She brushed herself off before going over to where Stiles and Scott were standing. Stiles had pulled up a video on Dr. Fenris' work, setting his phone on the hood of the Jeep so that the three of them could watch it.

The three of them crowded around Stiles' phone and watched as Dr. Fenris lectured about the origins of werewolves and how there could be some out there. His class started to laugh at him, so then he moved on to the topic of Berserkers. People who took the skins of animals and wore them, becoming the animal. He even had a theory that a bite from a Berserker could cause the victim to lose their humanity. Leah watched the video until it cut out; there was laughter in the background as Dr. Fenris turned his back to the class, who obviously thought Dr. Fenris was crazy.

"This is the guy." Stiles said, motioning to the phone, "This is your cure."

"Who is he?" Scott asked.

"Well, his real name is Dr. Conrad Haberlin." Scott furrowed his brows and looked at Stiles.

" _Real name?_ I thought you said—"

"I was getting there." Stiles put his hand up to stop Scott, "He had to legally change it. And that's how I know I got the right guy." Stiles glanced at Leah, a proud smile on his face. Leah rolled her eyes.

"He changed his name to Fenris." Leah simply explained, looking at Scott. Scott's eyebrows went up and he nodded.

"Are you _serious_?"

"Yes." Leah said, rolling forward on her toes, glad that Scott understood why it was so important.

"You have no idea what that means, do you?" Stiles realized.

"No, sorry." Scott shook his head and looked down at his feet. Leah laughed to herself.

"Fenris was the son of Loki in Greek mythology." Leah explained as Stiles pulled up a picture.

"See?" Stiles asked, showing Scott the picture.

"Is he the guy on the horse?" Scott asked.

"He's the wolf, dumbass!" Stiles shouted back. Leah sighed, disappointed with Scott's lack of Greek mythology knowledge.

"So why'd he change his name?" Scott asked.

"You saw the video, everyone was laughing at him. The idiot ruined himself." Stiles shoved a hand into his pocket and looked at Leah. She nodded in response, agreeing with Stiles.

"Why would he change his name to a giant wolf?" Scott asked.

"Probably because he still believes." Stiles shrugged with a small smirk. Scott took in a breath and looked down at Leah,

"Okay so, what makes you so sure that this guy's got a cure?" Scott asked. Leah shrugged and looked to Stiles.

"Well, I'm not—but I've watched all of this guy's videos. Kay? And he knows everything that there is to know about werewolves and I mean _everything_."

"More than you?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Awh, thank you, Barbie." Stiles placed a hand to his chest, ignoring the sarcastic bite to Leah's comment.

"I'm just saying that you should be pretty high on that list considering you do nothing else _but_ research." Leah continued.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to help my best friend—"

"Guys!" Scott hissed out, "Focus. Please?"

"This is the closest thing we've got to a certified expert." Stiles said, looking back to Scott.

"Except Derek." Leah mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There you go! Just mentioning his name again!" Stiles gaped at Leah, "Do you—Do you enjoy hurting me?"

"Yes." Leah plainly said, "And what do you care? You hate the guy!" Leah motioned to Stiles, making a face.

"Exactly! Which is why you need to stop mentioning his name every five seconds!" Stiles burst out, "It's like you're in love with him or something."

"I'm not in love with him!" Leah stomped her foot, "God, Stiles, you're so _stupid_." Leah tilted her head back to the sky.

"Oh, _I'm_ stupid?" Stiles asked back.

"How are we gonna find this guy?" Scott cut in, trying to get them back on track. Stiles and Leah both looked at Scott before Stiles glanced over his shoulder.

"I already did." Stiles said with a smirk. Leah looked to see Dr. Fenris walking out of the building. She shared a look with Scott before leaning back against the Jeep, trying to look inconspicuous. Then Stiles hit her shoulder.

"Come on." He said, motioning for them to follow. Leah walked in the middle of the boys, the three of them staying a little ways behind the doctor as he walked to his car. He turned and saw them, stared at them for a moment before turning back around.

"I think he saw us." Scott pointed out the obvious.

"So what?" Stiles asked back. The doctor turned and looked at them again.

"Pretty sure it looks like we're stalking him." Leah whispered.

"We're not stalking him." Stiles said back, "We're just walking behind him."

"He's walking faster." Scott pointed out as Leah picked up her pace a little bit to keep up with the doctor.

"No, he's not!"

"Well, we're definitely walking faster." Scott realized.

"Well, that's cause he's walking faster." Stiles pointed out as the doctor looked over his shoulder at the three teens again.

"He probably thinks we're gonna mug him!" Scott said, glancing at Stiles.

"We're not gonna mug him, we're just gonna talk to him." Stiles said.

"I think he thinks we're gonna mug him!" Scott hurriedly exclaimed.

"If he thought we were gonna mug him, he'd be—" Leah stopped herself as she watched the doctor start to run, "Running." Leah sighed. She stopped walking and looked at the boys.

"Get him." Stiles said before taking off into a sprint, Scott on his heels.

" _Why?"_ Leah asked, tipping her head to the sky, "Why am I surrounded by idiots?" Leah took off into a slight jog as Stiles and Scott caught up to the doctor, tackling him to the ground in front of his car. The doctor started yelling and throwing his keys.

"Here! Take it! Take the wallet! Take it all!" Dr. Fenris threw his wallet and it slid against the pavement. Leah scooped it up as she got to the boys.

"Just don't hurt me!" He shouted. Leah opened up the wallet and saw his driver's license in the front pocket. Leah pulled it out and then pulled her phone out, snapping a picture of the address. She shoved the license back in the pocket and shut the wallet.

"Here." Leah said, stepping up to him as Scott helped the doctor to his feet. Dr. Fenris took it and put it back in his pocket.

"Just a few questions, please?" Scott asked, referring to the lecture. Leah had missed the part where the boys had explained themselves. Dr. Fenris put his jacket in his trunk, glancing at the group.

"I'm sorry, but no. I don't talk about that anymore." Dr. Fenris said as he slammed the trunk down.

"Please? It won't take long at all. Just a few questions." Scott pleaded.

"I said no." Dr. Fenris got in his car and drove away from them, nothing else said.

"Well, what now?" Scott asked.

"Plan B." Stiles answered.

"Or plan me." Leah said, holding up her phone that proudly displayed the picture of Dr. Fenris' license, address and all.

"And here, I was just gonna tail him." Stiles said.

"You seem almost impressed." Leah answered, giving him a smirk.

"Stress on the _almost_." Stiles waved his finger at Leah and walked by, heading back to the Jeep.

"Good job, Leah." Scott said as he walked with her to the Jeep. Leah gave Scott a small, proud smile in return. "Hey, am I gonna regret this?" He asked as an afterthought.

"Only if we get caught." Leah glanced up at him with a smile. Scott sighed in response.

The three teens waited outside of Fenris' house until he got in his car and drove away. Leah watched the car turn the corner and then pushed out of the Jeep, following the boys across the street and onto the lawn of the house. Stiles led them to the backyard where there was a porch entrance.

"This is a bad idea." Scott whispered.

"You say that about all my ideas." Stiles said back.

"Because all of your ideas are bad." Leah shot back.

"Well, at least one of my ideas didn't get us trapped in a school with a psycho murdering Alpha." Stiles snapped back.

"Well, at least one of _my_ ideas didn't cause physical harm to my best friend."

"You know, you learn more from failures than successes." Stiles gave them a thumbs up as he turned around to look at them.

"So you must be a genius by now." Scott joked. Leah outright laughed at Scott's joke as Stiles gave them both unamused looks.

"You've been hanging out with Leah too much." Stiles said, not finding Scott's comment funny.

"You're right." Scott said, smile falling off of his face.

Leah continued to laugh to herself as she walked in front of Scott, following Stiles up the stairs to the porch door. Stiles tried to open the door, but it was locked. Leah let out a sigh and looked through the window, seeing that the doors led to a kitchen area. Leah looked over to see Stiles was taking his flannel off.

"Oh, God, no." Leah whined, covering her eyes with her hands.

"You sure about that?" Scott asked.

"It's just glass." Stiles said as if Scott were dumb.

Leah peeked through her fingers to see Stiles wrapping his fist up in the flannel. She quickly gave him a once over, noticing how tight and see through his tee was. Leah swallowed as she glanced up at Stiles' face. He looked at the window and then looked at Leah, taking in a deep breath. Leah recovered her eyes and then heard the sound of a fist hitting a solid surface. Stiles cried out in pain and Leah dropped her hands to see him writhing back in pain.

"Sonofamotherfriggin—" Stiles went over to the porch railing, leaning over it as he winced.

"And what did we learn from that mistake?" Scott asked. Leah grinned at Scott as Stiles gave a dry laugh.

"Oh, hahaha, wolf's got jokes tonight, huh?" Stiles asked as he unwrapped his fist and put his flannel back on.

"Please never take that off again." Leah said, holding up a hand as the worms started moving around in her stomach again.

"Were you unprepared for the gun show?" Stiles asked.

"If there _was_ a gun show, the window would be broken." Leah said, nodding to the window. Stiles glared at her and then spun around, talking to himself about scaling the roof. Leah looked around the porch, trying to find another way in.

"Oh, hey." Leah looked to see Scott holding a key in his hand, "This might work." He said, handing the key out to Stiles.

"It's a good find." Stiles said, taking the key and stepping up to the door. Leah slipped through after Stiles and Scott followed behind, closing it behind them.

"What are we looking for?" Scott asked.

"In one of his videos, he talks about _years_ of research." Stiles said as he walked through the kitchen, "So there's gotta be books and photos, journals…" Stiles trailed off as he walked toward a hallway.

"We're not just gonna steal them, are we?" Scott asked as Leah stepped up to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, we're just gonna get what we need and I'm gonna get them on my phone." Stiles said, turning to look at them with a proud smile on his face.

"Good plan." Leah heard Fenris' voice say.

"Thank you." Stiles grinned, not realizing who spoke. Then he looked over and down the hallway. His face paled and he stepped back.

"Get out." Fenris said as Stiles scampered back, stepping into Leah. Fenris stepped around the corner, holding a gun that was pointed right at the three teens. "Get out of my house." Stiles moved against Leah. She put her hands up, pressing them against his back so he would stop trying to push against her. Stiles froze for half a second before he turned to the side, looking at Scott and motioning with his hand,

"Ah, absolutely." He said, walking past Scott and going for the door. Scott grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Just five minutes." Scott asked as Stiles put his hands up. Scott's arm was in front of Leah, protecting his best friend from the gun, "Just a few questions."

"If you cannot see the gun in my hand, I can recommend a good eye doctor." Leah felt something dawn on her as Fenris said the word _doctor_. Fenris was a doctor, and there was a code.

"Just five minutes?" Scott asked, "We would not do this unless we had a really good reason." Leah started to smack Scott's side, trying to get his attention, but his eyes were trained on the gun.

"I changed my name to get away from _nutjobs_ like you who think this crap is real!" Fenris yelled at the three of them.

"He can't shoot us." Leah quickly whispered.

"What?" Stiles asked back.

"Wait so you don't believe it?" Scott asked, blinking a bit.

"Of course not." Fenris sneered, gun still trained on Scott.

"Then why'd you change your name to _Fenris_?" Scott asked, brow furrowing. Leah took in a breath, seeing how Fenris' stance shifted and his grip on the gun became tighter. She kept repeating that the doctor couldn't shoot them, trying to hype herself up for what she was about to do.

"I don't think you're going to shoot us." Leah finally spoke up, looking from the gun to the doctor as she pushed in front of Scott.

"How do you know that?" Fenris said as Leah stepped up closer to him. The barrel of the gun was trained on her and she swallowed before stepping closer.

" _Leah_." Scott hissed out, trying to stop her. Leah ignored him, getting close enough so the barrel was against her chest. She took in a breath and stared at the doctor,

"You can't shoot us." She said, voice steady as she stared at Fenris. "You take an oath, right? Do no harm." Leah said, staring at the doctor. Fenris stared at her for a moment before sighing, lowering the gun. Leah grinned, proud of herself as she looked at the boys. Stiles let out a sigh of relief and she saw Scott relax.

"God, I hate that oath." Fenris grumbled. The boys did a lame handshake and Leah turned to reach out and give a low five to Scott and a fist bump to Stiles.

"Five minutes." Leah turned back around to the doctor and held up her hand, splaying it out to extend five fingers, "That's it." Dr. Fenris stared at them for a moment before motioning for them to follow him. Leah followed him down the hall that he had come from, being led into a living room area.

* * *

"So how did you get into all of this?" Leah asked.

They were given books and pictures that Stiles had spread out across the coffee table. Dr. Fenris was by his file cabinet, getting more items for them to look at as they sat on the couch, Leah in the middle of both boys.

"I was living in Wisconsin." He started to explain as Leah let her eyes travel over the drawings of the wolves, "A young woman was rushed into my ER, unconscious." Stiles was leafing through a book, Scott was dutifully paying attention to the doctor.

"They said it was a hunting accident. That an arrow for a white tailed deer hit her instead. I removed the arrow and she woke up. Three minutes later, the wound was gone." Both Stiles and Leah looked over at the doctor. Scott glanced at them and tapped his hands together.

"You mean healed?" Stiles asked.

"As if it never happened." Dr. Fenris stared blankly ahead, almost like he was remembering the day. Leah pulled her lips in and looked back at the pictures. Dr. Fenris shut the drawer he was going through and stood up, walking over to the teens.

"I learned two things that day." Dr. Fenris started, "There are some people in this world who heal with an ability that science can't explain. Imagine what the means to somebody who's dedicated his life to healing. It's like catching a glimpse of the Holy Grail."

"What's the second thing?" Scott asked.

"There are also some people in this world who want to kill them." Dr. Fenris seriously said. Leah's mind instantly went to the Argents. "Wanna guess why they use an arrow?" Leah looked down at the drawings on the coffee table, seeing one with a beast with an arrow in its shoulder.

"She wouldn't heal until it was taken out." Stiles realized.

"They also cut them in half." Dr. Fenris added.

"Cut them in half, there's no way they could heal." Leah whispered, looking over the pictures and books.

"But why do they want them dead?" Scott asked.

"They're the unknown, something more powerful than yourself." Leah pulled in her lips and clasped her hands together, looking up at the doctor as he thumbed through the binder he was holding.

"I can't imagine why anyone would be afraid of someone like this." Dr. Fenris continued, "I spent five years looking for her. Found her here in Beacon Hills and then she disappeared. All I found of her was this photograph of her and this young man." Dr. Fenris dropped the photo onto the coffee table. The three of them leaned forward, staring at the black and white picture, "Probably her son."

"Derek." Leah whispered out, seeing a young Derek in the background.

"When I connected the woman to the werewolf myth, I found that there were differences between those who were born and those who were bitten." Dr. Fenris moved behind the couch, going over to his desk. "Those families who were born into it, were said to have a ritual once a year on the Wolf moon."

"The what moon?" Scott asked.

"Native Americans gave every full moon a name." Stiles started to explain. "Like February's the Ice Moon, March is the Worm Moon."

"They call January the Wolf Moon because hungry wolves would howl outside the villages in midwinter." Dr. Fenris explained.

"What was the ritual?" Stiles asked, looking over the couch at Dr. Fenris.

"It was like a family reunion. They would get together and preform rights of passage, they would draw power from each other." Dr. Fenris explained, "Supposedly they were stronger together in packs. The alphas, betas and even the omegas, the lowest of the wolves. They all contributed to the strength of the pack, they each—damnit!" Stiles and Leah made a face at each other as Dr. Fenris slammed his hand down on the desk.

"You okay?" Scott asked as the three of them turned around to look at the doctor.

"My housekeeper doesn't want me to smoke so she's hiding my cigarettes." Dr. Fenris grumbled out.

"You're a doctor and you smoke cigarettes?" Stiles asked, giving Fenris an amused grin.

"You know, I think your five minutes is about up." Dr. Fenris said, turning back around to look at the teens.

Leah made a face and nodded, looking back at the coffee table. The picture of Derek and his mother stared back at her. The woman looked familiar, as did most of Derek's family. She reached out and took the picture, carefully folding it in half to slip into her pocket.

"Can they be cured?" Leah heard Scott ask. She had completely missed out on his conversation leading up to his question but she knew he was talking about werewolves.

"Yes." Dr. Fenris made Leah look over, "Cut them in half." Leah licked her lips and felt her stomach drop, "Death cures all aliments." Leah looked at Scott, seeing his face drop and looking devastated, "Look, I'm sorry. I researched this for fifteen years and I've never heard of a cure! Really, why are you so interested in this? It's just a myth, it's a legend!"

"You sure about that?" Stiles and Leah asked at the same time. Leah glanced at Stiles, shifting on the couch so she could get a little bit away from him as Dr. Fenris sighed,

"I am beyond sure. I have the certainty of someone who has completely destroyed his personal and his professional reputation for some idiotic obsession! Do you have any idea to know what it's like to know that you have ruined your life?" Dr. Fenris shouted out. Leah twisted her fingers together before glancing over her shoulder at the doctor. "It's one thing to blame others, but it's another when you did it to _yourself_." Dr. Fenris pointed at himself, "Your five minutes are up!" Leah nodded and pushed off the couch, hand dipping into her pocket to make sure that the picture was still there.

Stiles led them out the front door and Leah followed him down to the porch steps to the Jeep. She got in the passenger seat as Scott stayed a moment to talk to the doctor. Letting her hand slip into her pocket, Leah took out the picture.

"You took that?" Stiles hissed out. "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know." Leah quietly answered, staring at the smiling woman, "Figured I'd give it to Derek."

"Oh, well, maybe he can take up scrapbooking after he comes back from the dead." Stiles snapped out. "Wait, you think he's just _missing_."

"God, Stiles, I'm sorry." Leah said, squeezing her eyes shut, "I'm sorry that I'm not able to write Derek off as dead as easily as you." Leah opened her eyes to look at him, "There's some part of me that knows he's alive, okay? And I will hold onto that part until I can't anymore because he is the _only_ person trying to help me figure out what the hell is wrong with me." Stiles stared at Leah.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Leah." Stiles whispered after a moment.

"Tell that to my missing childhood memories." Leah snapped back. She slammed back into the passenger seat, settling down, arms crossed over her chest as Scott got in the back of the Jeep. Stiles pulled out onto the street, heading back to their houses.

Leah went to get out when Stiles pulled up to Scott's house, but Stiles stopped her, "I can take you down to your house."

"I can walk." Leah said, glancing at him. Stiles pulled his lips in and nodded, tapping his hands on the steering wheel.

She pushed out of the Jeep and landed on her feet as she got out. Leah ambled over to Scott, her hand went to her head to pull off her baseball cap, shaking her hair out before placing the cap back on her head. Stiles drove off after a moment, leaving Leah and Scott alone.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find a cure." Leah sighed out, watching Stiles' Jeep turn the corner before she glanced up at Scott. Scott shrugged.

"It's okay."

"Are you okay?" Leah asked, rolling forward on her toes, eyebrows raising, "I mean, since last night?"

"Yeah." Scott blew out a breath.

Leah gave him a knowing look. She knew her best friend better than she knew herself. And she knew how much Scott cared about Allison, hell, she knew that he _loved_ Allison. There was no doubt in her mind that he was hurting, big time.

"No." Scott corrected himself as he shook his head, looking down at his shoes. Leah gave him a small smile, "I can't stop thinking about her. And then tonight, when we had the idea of a cure…" Leah nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"I'm sorry she broke up with you." Leah softly said.

She was torn; Leah knew why Allison broke up with Scott and understood the reasoning behind the decision, but it was still hard for her to see Scott in such an emotionally vulnerable state. She was a little angry with Allison for breaking Scott's heart, so she decided to be there for Scott,

"Do you wanna hang out?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows, "We could pig out on chocolate and play video games till the sun comes up." Leah suggested. Scott gave her a hint of a smile.

"I thought you hated chocolate. You always go for the Twizzlers."

"This is a special circumstance." Leah said, a smile of her own on her face, "Come on." Leah nodded to her house, "Maybe this time I'll let you kick my ass in Portal."

"You know, you think you're so good at that game, but you know I just let you win, right?" Scott raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"Ha! I knew it!" Leah shouted, pointing at him. Scott laughed and rolled his eyes, following Leah up the walk to her house.

"Honestly, can you even eat chocolate?" Leah asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, brows furrowing, "I mean, you _are_ part dog…" Leah was cut off as Scott laughed and playfully shoved her shoulder, making Leah laugh, "I'm just saying!" Leah raised her hands up in her defense.

* * *

A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?


	18. Because He Called Her

" _I'm fine, okay?"_ Connor reassured his sister as she walked down the stairs. She had finally gotten ahold of her brother, demanding answers, but mostly just worried about him, " _I just…needed to get away after what happened to Derek. I didn't need Mom questioning me about him."_

"Okay, but do they know where you are?"

" _Yes. And no, I'm not telling you."_ Connor cut his sister off, " _I'll be back soon though, I promise."_

"Yeah, okay." Leah sighed, pausing on the bottom step for a moment and crossing her arm over her stomach, "Are you sure Derek's dead?"

" _I'm not. I'm trying to find him_." Connor lied, glancing over to where Derek was pouring through Laura's things that they had found in one of the trunks in the Hale house. " _Are you okay? After everything that's happened?"_

"Yeah, totally fine." Leah lied right back, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Just come home soon, okay?"

" _Of course."_ Connor promised, feeling his stomach knot up at the fact that he had basically deserted his sister in her time of need. But him and Derek were so close to figuring out who the Alpha was, he couldn't risk anything getting in the way.

Leah hung up with her brother and stepped off the bottom stairs, looking back up at the stairs, "Ma!" She called out, "I'm actually on time! The least you could be is the same!"

"I'm pregnant, Leah." Tara said, waddling down the stairs after her daughter, "I'm waddling as fast as I can." Leah rolled her eyes as her mom got to the bottom step.

"Where are we even going anyway?" Leah asked, "I have shit to do." Tara gave her a look and Leah blew out a breath, "I have ex-cons to watch." She explained. Her mom let out a little laugh before gathering her stuff up.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy this much more." She said, patting Leah's shoulder as she passed her, "Let's go, Lele." Tara opened up the front door and Leah dutifully followed her.

Tara had woken Leah up on Saturday morning with a grin on her face. She told Leah that she had a surprise for her, but since her mom wouldn't tell Leah what it was, Leah just rolled back over and pulled the covers over her head. Scott hadn't left Leah's until almost two in the morning and Tara had the audacity to wake Leah up at noon for _mother daughter bonding_ at five.

But Leah had ended up complying after her mom bribed her with food and saying that the surprise would be well worth it. Which was how Leah ended up in the passenger seat of her dad's car, scrolling through her phone as her mom drove. Leah had two missed calls from Allison, but no message, so Leah felt she had no reason to call Allison back.

Leah hadn't spoken to her friend ever since she broke up with Scott. Currently, Allison wasn't on her good side because of the breakup. Although Leah understood _why_ Allison broke up with Scott, it still hurt Leah to see her best friend heartbroken over a girl. So Leah was staying away from Allison, still deciding how to handle the situation.

"Mom, I thought we stopped doing take your child to work day when I turned eight." Leah groaned as Tara pulled into the parking lot behind the sheriff's station. She hung her parking pass up and looked to Leah.

"Would you stop complaining?" Tara asked, laughing at her, "You don't even know why we're here."

"So tell me." Leah countered, making her eyes wide and moving her head back. Tara laughed again and shook her head.

"You are so like your—" Tara stopped and then shook her head again, "Come on."

"I'm so like who?" Leah asked as her mom got out of the car, "Mom?" Leah pushed out of her side of the car, meeting up with her mom as she walked around the front of the car, "Who am I like?"

"You are like your aunt." Tara sighed out, stuffing her hands into her jacket. Leah rolled her eyes in response.

"God, I so hope I'm not like Aunt Stella." Leah groaned out as her mom laughed a little, but she didn't confirm or deny that Aunt Stella was who she was talking about. Instead, Tara turned and started to walk away from the station, going into one of the adjacent buildings that Leah thought was just for storage.

Tara flashed her pass to the deputy behind the desk and Leah followed her mom down the hall. She followed Tara down the stairs and her mom led them to another hall in the basement. Leah had never been down in the building's basement, figuring it was just full of things that needed to be stored somewhere other than the station. But she was wrong.

"Dad told me how defenseless you felt in the school that night." Tara said as she opened the door, holding it open for Leah, "So I figured we'd try and help you not feel so defenseless."

"Guns." Leah managed out, eyebrows raising as she stepped into the shooting range. "You're going to teach me how to shoot a gun." Leah stated.

"Not me." Tara said, an amused smile on her face as she stepped into the room after me. "Mark is."

"Mark." Leah repeated, looking to where Tara nodded her head. Mark stepped out and waved at Leah, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey, Leah." He stepped up to them, "God, I haven't seen you since you were…this big." Mark raised his hand a little ways off the ground.

"I don't think I was ever that tall." Leah murmured, crossing her arms over her chest. Mark laughed as Tara placed her hand on Leah's shoulder.

"Leah was at the school when Derek Hale trapped those teens in there."

" _Mom_." Leah hissed out, "He doesn't need to know that."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Leah." Mark gave her a sympathetic smile. Leah gave him a tight smile back, rocking back on her heels, "Hopefully today makes you feel a little safer. How about we get you set up and we'll see how it goes." Mark suggested. Leah nodded and stepped out of her mom's grasp, following Mark over to the counter. He handed Leah a pair of safety glasses and a pair of ear muffs.

"Keep both these on while you're shooting." Mark explained.

Leah nodded and slipped the glasses on before pulling the ear muffs over her head, clasping them over her ears. Everything was muffled and Mark nodded at Leah to follow him. Leah glanced over her shoulder to see Tara give her a wave before pointing to the stairs, indicating that she was going to wait upstairs. Leah nodded, figuring that Tara couldn't be in such close range because of the baby.

Mark led Leah down to the second cubicle where there were three guns laid out. She looked over them, seeing how they were different in size and how different the bullets looked next to them. "Okay!" Mark shouted, loud enough for Leah to hear him through her ear muffs. Leah looked over to him.

"So we're gonna start with the Glock Nineteen!" He shouted, pointing to the smallest gun. It looked like a handgun that Leah saw on most episodes of whatever crime show her family decided to watch. Leah watched Mark load up the gun, remembering how he did it.

"Safety's here!" He pointed to it, clicking it off before clicking it back on again. He put it down with the rest of the guns.

"I'm gonna adjust your stance okay?" He asked. Leah nodded and felt his hands on her waist, turning her body. "Left foot in front!" Leah did as he said, "Make sure your weight is on your back foot, okay?" Leah nodded again. Mark picked up the gun and showed her how to hold it, "Left hand on top of right, lock thumbs together on grip!" He explained, "I loaded it through the bottom!" He pointed at the bottom. Leah nodded again and he handed the gun out to Leah.

The gun was lighter than she expected. Leah put her left hand on top of her right and locked her thumbs together on top of the grip, "Arms out!" Leah did as she was told, "And lock your elbows together!" Leah locked her elbows together, making sure that her weight was on her back foot, "Okay, I'm gonna have my hands here to stabilize you!" Mark put his hands on Leah's shoulders, "Good?" Leah nodded.

"Look through the top to aim!" Leah squinted an eye shut and stared through the viewfinder, "Line it up…!" She did as she was told, aiming for the target. "Click off the safety…!" Leah reached up to click off the safety, "And pull the trigger!" She did.

The gun had a little bit of kickback, but it wasn't too bad as Leah fired off a shot. She couldn't help but blink at the sound. Leah pulled the trigger again, shifting her hands on the grip as she pulled the trigger again. The gunshots echoed around the room as Leah shot at the target. Mark's hands fell away as it became clear that she was pretty stable as she got a handle on the gun.

After ten rounds, the gun clicked, nothing coming out. Leah slowly lowered the gun and clicked the safety back on, handing it to Mark. Mark nodded at her, giving her a thumbs up as he pulled the target back to them. There was a smattering of bullet holes around the paper, none even close to the center.

"For a first timer this is pretty good!" Mark yelled.

"You probably say that to everyone!" Leah yelled back, shaking her head. Mark laughed and hung the paper back up.

"You'll get the hang of it!" Mark assured her. Leah gave him a small smile and turned back to the other two guns.

Mark and Leah went through the other two guns, a MP5 and a 12 Gauge shotgun. Leah found herself liking the shotgun and the glock more than the MP5. Mark let Leah go back and shoot two more rounds with the glock and she finally hit the bulls-eye on the last shot. Leah couldn't help but smirk at the target as it came back.

As she stepped out of the range, Leah pulled off the glasses and ear muffs. Her mom was coming down the stairs as Leah walked over to the desk, watching Mark unload the guns and take them apart. Tara caught Leah's eye and gave her a knowing smile,

"So did you have fun?" She asked. Leah nodded, raising her eyebrows

"Does this mean I get a—"

" _No_." Tara cut Leah off, shaking her head, "No, you do not get a gun." Leah slumped down, letting out a whine.

"Then _why_ did you take me here? You just tease me." Leah whined. Tara rolled her eyes and laughed at Leah, turning away and going over to the counter. Leah followed, putting her glasses and ear muffs on the counter.

"Just a handgun." Leah suggested, "I'll be safe!" Tara went around the counter, giving Leah a look.

"Here." Tara said, reaching into a case under the counter and then holding out a small device. "It's a taser."

"Sweet." Leah took the taser from her mom and looked it over. It was lighter than the glock and fit perfectly in Leah's hand.

"Be careful." Tara instructed as she walked back around the counter. Leah set the taser down on the counter and saluted her mom before wrapping her arms around Tara, hugging her mom tight.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Leah repeated herself before stepping back. Tara gave Leah a smile and reached out to rub her shoulder.

"I just want you to be able to feel safe. And to _stay_ safe." Tara said, staring at her. Leah nodded and gave her mom a small smile. Leah's phone buzzed in her pocket and she reached in the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her phone.

"It's Allison." Leah said with a sigh.

"Is everything okay?" Tara asked as Leah opened the text.

"She wants me to come over." Leah made a face, "No, I'd rather not."

"Why?" Her mom asked as Leah shoved her phone back into her pocket, "I thought you two were friends."

"Until she broke up with Scott." Leah explained, looking away from her mom.

"Ah. So you're just ignoring her." Tara guessed. Leah nodded.

"Yup." Leah let her lips pop as she looked back at her mom, seeing that Tara was giving her an unamused look, "What?" Leah asked.

"Honey, I don't think you should be so quick to freeze her out." Tara said, raising her shoulders. Leah groaned and let her head tip back.

"Mom, she broke up with Scott. Scott's my best friend." Leah explained, moving her hands around, "Bros before hoes."

"Did you ever stop to think about how she's feeling?" Tara asked, "She's probably just as heartbroken as Scott. I bet she just needs someone to talk to about what happened." Leah squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the familiar sense of guilt come over her.

" _Fine_." Leah let out an exasperated sigh, "I'll go. Spend some _quality girl time_." She made her voice deeper as she looked back at her phone. "But I'm taking the taser."

Leah and Tara returned home after making a quick pit stop to pick up some food for Leah; she was promised food. Once inside the house, Leah went up to get a few necessary evils for spending the night with Allison. She packed a duffel with a change of clothes, toiletries and her bottle of Jager. Making sure it was wrapped up tight, Leah zipped up the duffel and got to her feet, glancing over to Scott's window. She saw a lump on his bed about the size of Scott, so she took out her phone, sending him a text.

 _Everything okay?_

 _Just wallowing_ , Came Scott's response. He lifted his head up to look at Leah from his bed, _where are you going?_

Leah debated lying to Scott, but decided against it, _to allison's_ She watched him read the text, his brow furrowing and she quickly sent another text _please don't be mad, she's my friend too._

 _not mad just surprised. can you tell her i'm sorry?_

Leah took in a breath and looked up from her phone, seeing Scott staring back at her. She nodded and gave him a small smile before turning away from the window, walking out of her bedroom with her duffle smacking against her side.

Drew dropped Leah off in front of the Argent's house on his way to work, reminding her to be safe. Leah promised she would be, even handing over the teaser that she had tried to sneak into the house. Her dad gave her a goodbye kiss and told her to call if she needed anything. Leah agreed that she would, pushing out of the car and heading up to the Argent's front door.

Leah hurried up the steps to Allison's front door and pressed her finger against the doorbell. She shoved her hands in the back pocket of her jeans and looked over her shoulder to see that her dad's car was gone. The door opened, causing Leah to turn back to look at the woman from the grocery store standing in front of her.

"Leah, hi." Kate said with a warm smile. Leah forced a smile on her face, remembering that Connor wasn't a fan of Kate, which meant Leah wasn't either.

"Kate, right?" Leah asked, even though she knew exactly who Kate was. Kate nodded and her smile widened.

"Glad you remembered." Kate stepped aside, "Allison and I were just diving into some leftover chocolate cake." Leah stepped inside the Argent house and gave Kate a raised eyebrows look,

"Sounds like a party." Leah commented, following Kate through the house. Leah couldn't help but take in the massive size of the house, including all the nice and expensive looking furniture. It must've paid well to be a werewolf hunter.

"Hey, Allison, I found a Leah." Kate said as she walked into the kitchen, Leah following behind her.

Allison pushed off of the counter, standing up straighter as she took the fork out of her mouth. Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison, taking in the girl's appearance. Allison looked like she had been crying and hadn't changed out of her pjs.

"Oh wow." Leah managed out, not knowing how to react to her friend's new look. "You look like shit." She simply said, glancing to Kate who raised her eyebrows at Leah, going around the counter. "Sorry." Leah added on, looking back at Allison as she realized that her comment probably wasn't the best. Allison gave her a timid smile and ducked her head down, stepping back up to the counter and taking the fork out of her mouth.

"So, chocolate cake?" Leah asked, setting her bag down on the floor. She didn't know how to continue the conversation so she went with the most obvious thing. Leah walked over to Allison, taking the fork that Kate handed out to her.

"Heals all wounds." Kate winked at Leah and Leah raised her eyebrows in response.

"I'm more of a Twizzler girl, but hey." Leah shrugged, sticking her fork into the cake. Allison stayed quiet, watching Leah take a bit of the cake before opening her mouth.

"Thanks for coming over." Allison said, voice quiet. Leah was a little taken aback; Allison was always usually very happy and bubbly. The break up must've been a lot harder on Allison than Leah realized.

"Of—of course." Leah said around a mouthful of cake, brows furrowing. "I'd ask how you are, but it seems like _not well_ is the answer I'm gonna get." Leah swallowed her bite of cake and gave Allison a small smile. Allison gave her a sad smile in return and looked down at the floor before shaking her head and sighing.

"I'm fine." Allison said, giving Leah a tight smile.

"Oh, honey." Kate tsked, getting the girls' attention, "You do not have to pretend that you are okay. Leah gets it." Kate looked at Leah before picking up her fork, "But I don't think you should waste more tears on this boy. He doesn't deserve them."

"What's that's supposed to mean?" Leah asked, not liking where the conversation was headed.

"All I'm saying is that Allison did the right thing—"

"By breaking not only her heart, but also Scott's?" Leah cut Kate off, raising her eyebrows up.

"He lied to her, sweetie." Kate gave Leah an amused smile, "That's one step away from cheating."

"Uh, no it's not." Leah made a face and looked from Kate to Allison, "It's being in a stressful situation and doing what it takes to get out of there alive." Leah defended Scott, "He locked you in the classroom to _protect_ you. And yeah, I understand why you broke up with him, but he's a teenage boy and honestly has been _pretty great_ to you otherwise."

"Sounds like you might have a little crush." Kate was playing devil's advocate as she motioned to Leah with her fork with a smirk on her face.

"Or the fact that I've known him since we were four and he's my best friend." Leah snapped back. Kate raised her eyebrows and put her hands up to defend herself. Leah glanced over to Allison, seeing her chewing on her bottom lip, "Sorry, I—I just…I don't like people bashing my best friend and if that's what you invited me over here to do then—"

"No!" Allison reached out to Leah, "No, I just—I just wanted to hang out with you." Allison gave Leah a sad smile. "We haven't hung out in a while and I just wanted…some sense of normalcy." Allison rolled her eyes up as she let out a little laugh. Leah screwed her mouth to the side and took in a breath, nodding a bit.

"Okay." Leah swallowed, giving Allison a tight smile. Kate looked in between the girls, swaying her hips around as she glanced down, noticing how Leah's hands were kind of shaking.

"You okay?" Kate asked, changing the subject. Leah looked over to Kate and then looked to her hands, seeing how they twitched slightly, still recovering from the guns she handled earlier.

"Oh, yeah, I was—my mom is a deputy and she took me to the gun range earlier." Leah explained, clasping her hands together. Kate raised her eyebrows at Leah.

"My kind of fun." Kate grinned at Leah, "Whatcha shoot?" She asked, getting interested.

"Uhm a M-P-five and a twelve gauge shotgun and a Glock nineteen." Leah answered, ticking off the three guns.

"Love myself a good shotgun." Kate replied, "How'd you do?"

"It was my first time so…not so great." Leah shrugged, glancing over to Allison who had her eyebrows raised. "I was feeling kind of—I don't know, I wanted to know that I could defend myself after what happened at the school." Leah took in a breath and shook her head, getting embarrassed at what she just admitted.

"Just practice more and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Kate winked at Leah like they were sharing some sort of inside joke. Leah didn't know how to respond, but luckily Kate had moved on, "Our girl Allison is pretty good with a bow and arrow." Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison as Allison covered her face with her hands, embarrassed.

" _Seriously?"_ Leah questioned, wanting to know more.

"I was nationally ranked as a kid and my dad wanted me to do more, but I kinda just…" Allison waved her hand in the air nonchalantly. Leah was torn; it was really cool that Allison was good with a bow and arrow, but Leah remembered her conversation with Dr. Fenris about how arrows were specifically used against werewolves.

"That's like a super weird sport to be good at but also like super cool." Leah laughed, trying to sound like it didn't phase her and getting Allison to blush.

Kate's phone buzzed, getting the girls' attention. She glanced at it before looking back at the girls, "Can I trust you two to be alone tonight?" Kate prompted. Leah and Allison shared a look before nodding. Kate grinned at the two of them, pushing back from the counter, "Have fun, ladies." Kate waved her fingers at Allison and Leah before walking out of the kitchen and to the garage.

Leah turned to Allison, raising her eyebrows at her friend. Allison gave her a small smile and furrowed her brow, "I'm sorry about Kate—and what she said about Sc—she's not usually like that."

"I mean, I get it." Leah shrugged, "It's the whole _break up, hate the ex_ deal."

"You don't…hate me, right?" Allison quietly asked. Leah raised her eyebrows, realizing what she said,

"Oh, I didn't—I mean, I get it." Leah put her hands out in front of her, "I get why you broke up with him—so I don't hate you. I just—I'm Switzerland." Leah settled on. Allison gave her a small smile and nodded.

The two girls stood in the middle of the kitchen for a few moments in silence before Allison glanced to the cake and then back to Leah, "Do you wanna go upstairs and do something?" Leah nodded, letting out a breath.

"Yes, God."

Leah grabbed her duffel from where it was on the ground and followed Allison up to her room. There weren't as many boxes as Leah remembered from the last time she was over at Allison's, but it was clear that Allison was still settling in.

"Okay, so." Leah prompted as she set her duffle on Allison's bed, Allison sitting beside it, "I don't really know what to do in these situations and honestly, I think Lydia would've been the better choice to call to come over and help get over your ex—"

"I hung out with her yesterday." Allison cut Leah off. Leah raised her eyebrows, "It was some sort of spa day." Allison tried to explain, her brow furrowing as she laughed a little. Leah made a face.

"That sounds like torture." She said, "A _whole_ _day_ with Lydia?" Leah got a little laugh from Allison.

"She's not that bad, Leah."

"Oh, but she is." Leah made her eyes wide as she reached into her duffle, "Anyway, I brought alcohol." Leah didn't know how to tell Allison her plan so she just went the most direct route. Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah, giving her an amused smile.

"Let's power hour this bitch." Leah grinned at Allison. Allison took in a breath and looked at the bottle Jager before looking at Leah.

"I'll go get some soda." Allison pushed off of the bed "And snacks." She added as an afterthought before exiting her room, leaving Leah alone. Leah settled herself on the bed, unscrewing the Jager and taking a shot before Allison came back.

Once Allison came back, the girls got started, Leah setting a timer on her phone to go off every minute, reminding them to take another shot. Leah sat in Allison's loveseat, holding her soda cup with both hands as Allison laid on the bed.

As the hour started to go by, the girls discussed topics that were far, far away from Scott or what happened at the school. Leah told Allison stories about her family, while Allison told Leah about her time in San Francisco. The girls discussed their favorite movies, music and tv shows—Leah trying to get Allison to agree to watch _Leverage_. They were bonding, drunkly, but bonding.

But soon, the topics started to run out and Leah found herself struggling to bring up something new when Allison said,

"Let's talk about Scott!" Allison perked up, bottle in her hands. The timer went off and Allison took a shot as Leah sat up a bit straighter on the loveseat,

"No, no let's not." Leah hurriedly said, taking the bottle from Allison to take a shot.

"Scott….Scott is a _liar_." Allison said as she rolled onto her stomach to look at Leah, "He's a liar." She squinted at Leah, who swallowed, her brain feeling fuzzy.

"Can we turn on some music?" Leah asked, looking to Allison's desk, not wanting to talk about Scott.

She reached over, the Jager bottle in one hand as she reached for Allison's computer, moving her fingers over the mousepad to wake up the desktop and hitting Allison's iTunes. She hit the shuffle button and music came flowing from the speakers as the timer went off again.

Leah took another shot, before getting to her feet to hand the bottle to Allison. Instead, she lost her balance, slipping and falling against the bed. Allison burst out laughing at Leah as Leah slipped down the front of the bed, ending up on the floor. Leah couldn't help but giggle at her situation, letting out a snort, which made Allison stop laughing.

"Did you just snort?!" Allison cried out, looking over the edge of the bed at Leah. Leah stopped, becoming serious extremely fast.

"No." Leah seriously said as Allison laughed at her.

"You snort when you laugh!" Allison teased. Leah furrowed her brows, reaching up over her head to smack at Allison.

"No I don't!" Leah grumbled.

Allison laughed and shimmied herself off of the bed so she could be on the floor next to Leah. Leah handed Allison the bottle as the timer went off again. Allison took two shots and handed the bottle to Leah who took another shot.

They were both pretty drunk; only being about a hundred and twenty pounds each, plus their heights were working against them. Allison looked at Leah as she took a sip from her soda and Leah caught the look.

"What?" Leah asked, getting Allison to give her a knowing smile. " _What?!"_ Leah all about cried out, going to touch her face, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Nooo." Allison dragged the word out and grinned at Leah, "I just am really happy you're here." Allison reached out for Leah, rubbing her knee.

"Me too." Leah grinned at Allison, nodding a bit, "This is fun." The timer went off again and Leah took another shot from the bottle before handing it to Allison, "Way more fun than a spa day." Allison laughed, "And we're doing it in the comfort of a home, not in the middle of the forest." Leah rolled her eyes as Allison glanced at her.

"People do that?"

" _Stiles_ does that." Leah corrected Allison, "Not often, but he's taking Scott out there…tonight?" Leah made a face, "Tomorrow." She corrected herself. Allison raised her eyebrows up at the mention of Scott, making Leah's eyes go wide.

"Oh fuck, my bad." Leah quickly backtracked.

"No, it's fine." Allison made a face and waved her hand around, "What's the deal with you and Stiles?" Allison asked, changing the subject. The timer went off and Allison took a shot before handing it over to Leah. Leah took in a breath before answering,

"I hate him." Leah simply said, taking a shot from the bottle as Allison scoffed.

"You do not."

"Yes I do!" Leah protested, "I hate how he acts like he's _better_ than everyone." She scoffed, "I hate that he thinks he can get away with anything. He thinks he's the best at everything and has such a seriously big ego. I just want to grab him by the face and just go _you're a piece of shit_." Leah mimicked her actions and gritted her teeth as Allison laughed at her.

"What happened to make you guys get like that?"

"Seven minutes in heaven." Leah admitted without thinking. Allison's eyes went wide and she let out a small gasp.

" _No_." Allison whispered as the timer went off. Leah nodded as she took a shot,

" _Yes._ And we—we weren't even…gonna do anything." Leah shrugged as Allison took the bottle from her, "Then Stiles starts _yammering_ about how he wishes it was someone else—be—because he wanted to get kissed—or something." Leah made a face, "So I kissed him!" Leah finished, eyes going wide, "And it was the—the worst mistake of _my fucking life_." Leah dropped her chin to her chest, "Because Lydia walked in, right then and there and blabbed about it to everyone and it's all my fault." Leah sighed.

"How—how is it your fault?" Allison asked, taking a shot as her brows furrowed.

"Because according to Stiles I—I ruined his chances with…with Lydia." Leah blinked rapidly, motioning with her hands as Allison handed her the bottle, "He never had a chance with her to begin with." Leah scoffed. She looked into the bottle, seeing that there was enough for one more shot. Leah pressed her lips against the bottle, "Fuck, I think I like him." She admitted into the bottle, not realizing that Allison could hear her.

"Oh my God!" Allison cried out, getting Leah's attention. Allison pulled her legs up to her chest and grinned at Leah, covering her face with her hands, "I knew it!" Allison said, dropping her hands from her face, "I knew it!" Allison pointed at Leah, laughing at her. Leah's eyes went wide.

"Past tense! I meant past tense!" Leah tried to correct herself, but she could feel her face heating up.

Allison shifted on the floor as Leah took the last shot, grimacing as it went down. Allison fully faced Leah, grinning at her, "You like him." She stated.

"No, no, _no_." Leah quickly said, "Whenever I see him it feels like worms are moving around in my stomach and the back of my neck gets all hot."

"Those are butterflies." Allison nodded, grinning at her friend, "Totally normal and totally means you like him."

"Noooooooo." Leah groaned out, tipping her head back, "Noooo, I don't! I don't! And he doesn't like me either, so…" Leah made a face, raising her hand up and then letting it drop.

"I have a plan." Allison waggled her eyebrows at Leah. Leah eyed her skeptically. "So you like him but you need like a sign to make sure he likes you?" Allison prompted, "Like in the movies!" Allison waved her hand at Leah, trying to relate with her. Leah raised her eyebrows.

"Continue." Leah was curious to see where Allison was going with her babbling.

"Like if he calls—or texts!" Allison held up a finger, "you, then that means he likes you and you have to kiss him." Leah grimaced, but Allison didn't let her come up with an excuse, "You have to!" Allison reached out for Leah, grabbing her hands, "You have to." She said seriously.

Leah took in a breath and Allison got to her feet, stumbling a bit as she climbed onto the bed, getting Leah's phone. She fell back off of the bed and set Leah's phone in the middle of the two of them. Allison planted her elbows on her thighs and her chin in her hands, waiting for the phone to ring, almost willing it to ring.

"Ally, this is _so_ dumb!" Leah laughed out, rolling her head back, "We don't talk! We aren't friends!"

"Yes, you are." Allison immediately responded, looking up to Leah, "You guys are friends." Her brow furrowed as Leah reached for her soda cup.

Leah took in a breath, looking away from Allison as Allison went back to studying her phone. Taking a sip from her soda cup, Leah considered what Allison was saying about her and Stiles being friends. After the incident at the school, Leah could tell things between them were changing. They were still horribly snarky and sarcastic to each other, but it wasn't out of spite, it was just natural for them. They had actually begun to work together, especially with finding Dr. Fenris and trying to help Scott. Tragedy had brought them together. And Leah didn't know what to do, especially since she seemed to be developing a small crush on Stiles.

"Aha!" Allison suddenly cried out as Leah's phone began to ring. Allison scooped it up and waved it in front of Leah's face. Leah felt her stomach drop, not from dread, but from nervousness at the sight of Stiles' name on the screen.

"I have powers." Allison wiggled her fingers in the air as she tossed Leah her phone, "You gotta answer it!"

"No, you answer it!" Leah tossed the phone back to Allison, who caught it and giggled before answering the phone.

"Hiiiii Stiles!" Allison grinned at Leah, putting the phone on speaker.

 _"Uhm, who is this?"_ Stiles' voice came back over the line and Leah felt her heart contract at the sound of his voice.

"It's Allison." Allison said, sounding offended.

 _"Oh…why do you have Leah's phone?"_ Stiles asked.

"Because!" Allison said as if that was enough of an answer.

 _"Cool, great, can I talk to Leah?"_ Stiles already sounded exasperated.

Allison looked to Leah with wide eyes and a knowing smile on her face. She waved the phone in front of Leah who sighed and took it from her friend. Leah clicked the speaker off and pressed it to her ear.

 _"Are you drunk?"_ Stiles asked. Leah scoffed and rolled her eyes,

"Please, I'm the soberest person in this room!" Leah cried out, waving her arm around.

 _"Jesus."_ Stiles whispered.

"What does Jesus have to do with this?" Leah asked, brow furrowing, "You know, I don't even think that there really is a God. I mean, with everything—"

 _"Where are you?"_ Stiles asked, cutting Leah off.

"With Allison!" Leah grinned at Allison, pointing at her, who grinned and pointed back at Leah.

 _"At her house?"_ Stiles asked.

"No, dumbass, in the woods." Leah droned out, dropping her chin to her chest, "Of course at her house! We have some class!"

"Yeah we do!" Allison cheered back.

 _"Just stay there, okay? I'll be there soon. Don't say anything stupid."_

"Stiles! Come over!" Allison called out, getting close to the phone, "Leah has something she has to tell you!" Allison grinned at Leah and Leah gasped, pushing Allison away from her.

"I do not!" Leah yelled back into the phone, "I don't have anything to tell you, you shouldn't come here!"

 _"Why?"_

"Because—because we're naked!" Leah's brain wasn't doing very well with excuses and Allison's eyebrows shot up, "We're not!" Leah backtracked as Stiles stayed quiet. Leah laughed, "We're not naked, that'd be weird." She laughed again. Allison grabbed the phone from Leah and pressed it to her ear.

"Okay, we'll see you soon!" Allison crooned out into the phone before hanging up. Leah gasped, meeting Allison's amused look.

"I can't believe you did that." Leah laughed out, pressing her hands to her face. Leah couldn't stop laughing and she rolled over onto the floor, clutching her sides as she laughed.

"You have to kiss him! You have to kiss him!" Allison sang out, like a child.

"I'm gonna die!" Leah laughed out, getting Allison to laugh at her.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later, making Allison and Leah go for the stairs. They were tripping over themselves and laughing as they tried to get down the stairs. Leah ended up slipping against the wall and rolling down the last step, but quickly recovered, getting Allison to give her a ten out of ten for effort.

"Stiles!" Allison cheered as she threw open the front door.

Stiles' eyes were trained on Leah as she stumbled up next to Allison, grinning at him. He was concerned she, in her drunken state, had spilled the werewolf beans and felt that he better take Leah home before she did or said anything stupid. Allison and her shared a look before Allison elbowed Leah. Leah took in a breath and acted on the liquid courage she still had inside of her.

She took a step forward onto the stoop, getting close to Stiles and pushing up on her toes. Leah reached up to grab Stiles' face and pull it down to hers. Before Stiles could register what was happening, her lips were on his. She kissed him for a moment before pulling back with a loud smack. Allison started giggling and grabbed Leah, pulling her back inside and shutting the door on Stiles' surprised face.

"Oh my God!" Allison cried out as Leah started laughing, "You did it!"

"You owe me!" Leah brandished a finger at Allison, "You owe me, Argent!" Leah playfully reached out to hit Allison, Allison responding with a few smacks of her own before she turned and ran-crawled back up the stairs, Leah following behind her, both of them shrieking with laughter.

Stiles blinked rapidly as his brain caught up with what the hell just happened. He stared at the front door of the Argent's house, remembering that Leah was standing there moments before. Stiles quickly licked his lips, tasting the combination of something sweet that left him with a nasty aftertaste. The taste that had come from Leah's lips because her mouth was on his because she kissed him. She kissed him.

"What the fuck?" Stiles whispered out to himself, brows furrowing as he looked back at the Argent house before he turned away, then turned back, debating on whether or not he should go inside and demand answers.

He tried the knob, but the door was locked. Stiles took a few steps back and looked up at the second floor, seeing Allison walk in front of one of the windows. He glanced at the ground, gathering up a few pebbles before tossing them against Allison's window, one by one, trying to get their attention.

"Stiles!" Allison cheered as she poked her head out of the window. Leah appeared next to her. The two of them shared a look before dissolving into giggles again. Stiles raised his eyebrows at the sound of Leah _giggling_.

"What _the_ _fuck_ was that?" Stiles called out, lifting his arms up.

"I kissed you!" Leah called down, waving at him.

"Yeah, no shit!" Stiles responded, "Why?"

"Because you called me!" Leah said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Stiles made a face and planted his hands on his hips as he looked around the front yard before looking back up at the girls.

"That's not an actual answer!"

"Yes it is!" Leah yelled back.

"Goodnight, Stiles!" Allison called out, the girls laughing at each other or at him, Stiles couldn't tell.

"No—No, wait—!" Stiles waved to the girls, trying to stop them from shutting the window. But Allison shut the window, leaving Stiles out in the front yard. Stiles let out a sigh and looked down, brows furrowing, "Because I called her?" He whispered to himself, more confused than ever.

* * *

 _AAAAAHHHHH! Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	19. Emotional Reaction

Leah rolled over in bed, letting out a small groan as she woke up. Opening one eye, Leah saw Allison sleeping on her stomach next to her, mouth opened slightly and hair a tangled mess. Leah closed her eye and rolled onto her back, taking in a breath through her nose as she tried to connect the dots of the previous night.

Then, suddenly, she shot up in bed, letting out a horrified gasp, clutching the covers to her chest and waking Allison up.

"Whatsit?" Allison mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she propped herself up on her elbow.

"Ally, please tell me I didn't kiss Stiles last night." Leah slowly said, staring at herself in the mirror across from Allison's bed.

"You didn't kiss Stiles last night." Allison repeated, shifting on the bed so she was on her back, propped up on her elbows. Leah relaxed, realizing it must've been a dream, as Allison yawned.

"I mean, you did, but…" Allison didn't finish her sentence and Leah's eyes went wide, her head flicking to the side to look at Allison.

"No, Allison, please tell me I didn't." Leah pleaded with her friend as Allison rubbed the side of her face.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Allison mumbled, pushing herself up into a proper sitting position. Leah groaned and fell back against the pillows, covering her face with her hands.

"Just fucking kill me now." Allison heard her say against her hands.

"Leah, I'm sure it's fine." Allison shook her head, amused at how dramatic Leah was being.

"No! No, it fucking won't be." Leah dropped her hands from her face and reached over to grab her phone from the nightstand. She tapped her phone, letting the lock screen pop up to see that she had a text from Stiles. Leah groaned as she opened the message.

 _hey we should probably talk when you're sober._

"FUCK!" Leah cried out, dropping her phone on her stomach and covering her hands with her face, "Oh my God, I want to die, right fucking now." Leah whined as Allison watched her have a meltdown.

"It could be worse." Allison tried to be helpful, but just got a glare from Leah. Leah took in a breath and sat up in the bed, kicking the covers off of herself.

"Just…no more making decisions when we're drunk, okay?" Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison. Allison nodded and Leah slumped down. "Ugh, I guess I should get going."

"What are you gonna do about Stiles?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Ignore him." Leah simply said, picking at the bed covers "Ignore it until it goes away." Leah sighed, quickly glancing over to her friend, "Last night was fun though, besides the whole _deciding to kiss Stiles_ thing." Leah rolled her eyes and Allison gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, for sure." Allison pulled her knees up to her chest, "Thanks for coming over."

"Anytime." Leah found herself responding, realizing it was true.

Pushing herself out of the bed, Leah went over to her duffel, grabbing her change of clothes and quickly changing before stuffing the clothes she wore to bed in her duffel along with the empty bottle of Jager. She hoisted the duffel onto her shoulder and turned to see Allison still in bed, going through the pictures the two of the drunkly took together. She laughed at one of them before looking up at Leah.

"I'll see you Monday." Leah gave Allison a small smile, going for the door before turning back, "And don't feel guilty about what happened last night. It's my own damn fault." Allison nodded, giving her a small smile,

"I honestly think it was a good thing to do." Allison responded, eyebrows raising, "Maybe not drunk, but…you realized you liked him, right?" Leah took in a breath and looked away from Allison, thinking for a moment as the worms moved around in her stomach again. She ended up shrugging and looking down at her sneakers for a moment before looking back up at Allison,

"I'll see you on Monday." Leah repeated herself, giving Allison a small smile "Thanks for having me." Allison returned the smile and nodded.

Leah walked out of Allison's bedroom and went down the stairs, not seeing her parents or Kate anywhere in her immediate sight. So she let herself out of the Argents and started the walk home.

As she walked, Leah thought about everything that happened the previous night, surprised that she clearly remembered it, even with all that they drank. She remembered babbling about what had happened between her and Stiles, remembered admitting her crush and of course, remembered kissing Stiles. The sensation of worms squirming around in her stomach returned and Leah let out a small groan as she walked.

It was bad enough that she realized she liked Stiles, but then she had to go and make it worse by kissing him. Her fingers went up to her lips and she gingerly dragged her fingers across her mouth, remembering the feeling of Stiles' mouth on hers. The worms squirmed a little bit faster and Leah could feel the tip of her ears begin to burn as she thought about the kiss.

She didn't know what to do. And Leah always, kinda, knew what to do, but when it came to how to handle what happened between her and Stiles…Leah was at a loss. She regretted the kiss, but didn't regret telling Allison that she maybe, sorta, kinda liked Stiles; Allison didn't react the way Leah thought she would. Sure, she was drunk, but Leah was appreciative that Allison seemed to be there for her.

Once she got home, Leah decided that it would be best for her to just ignore Stiles. Completely. Well, for as long as she could. She needed time away from him to figure out what she wanted to do, but she knew for certain she didn't need to be around him and discussing the kiss she had thought about twenty times during her walk home.

Leah knew her dad was asleep by the time she got home, so she quietly entered her house, slipping her shoes off as she went. She headed into the kitchen and went to the pantry, grabbing two boxes of brownie mix and the rest of the ingredients needed; she needed to bake some things out.

* * *

Connor opened the driver's side door of his car, slipping inside and putting his to-go coffee cup into the cupholder before he glanced to the side. Kate Argent was sitting in the passenger seat and Connor jumped in surprise, head hitting the top of the car as he took in a sharp breath.

"Jeeeesuss." Connor hissed out, rubbing his head and glaring at Kate, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You should really lock your car, Con." Kate smirked at Connor, who continued to glare at her.

"Usually don't have to worry about people breaking into my car, Katie." Connor snapped back, Kate's smirk growing as she let out a little laugh.

"I've missed you, Connor." Kate reached over and placed her hand on Connor's thigh. Connor didn't even flinch, just narrowed his eyes at Kate,

"What the fuck do you want?" He said through gritted teeth.

"I just wanna catch up." Kate innocently said, shaking her head a bit, making her dirty blonde curls move with her.

"You mean, you want information on Derek and the Alpha." Connor corrected her, getting Kate to smile at him like a shark.

"Oh honey, you were always the smart one." Kate's hand slowly moved up Connor's thigh, but Connor kept his gaze on Kate, unwavering as he stared at the bitch in heels. He was never intimated by Kate, no matter what she did to try and get a rise out of him.

"Either tell me what you want or get out of my car." Connor seriously said. Kate tilted her head to the side and gave Connor a closed lipped smile,

"I just want to know what your sister knows." Kate simply said.

"She doesn't know anything." Connor immediately responded, eyes hardening, "She isn't involved with any of this."

"Are you sure about that?" Kate raised her eyebrows, taunting Connor, "Maybe she and I should have a little chat." Kate mused. That got a reaction from Connor. He lunged for Kate, pushing her back against the window as he grabbed her shirt in his fist. He got closer to Kate, eyes wide as he stared at her.

"If you so much as say a _word_ to her, I will personally make your life a living hell." Connor seethed out, "Leave her alone." Kate gave him an amused smile as Connor threatened her, "Or else I will tell your niece _all_ about her _perfect_ little family." The smile slowly dropped off of Kate's face as Connor continued, "About how her favorite aunt, who she adores _so much_ , lied to the school about her age, tricked a minor and then burned his house down…killing his entire family. In fact, maybe I'll tell your brother too. I'm sure he would like to hear what _really_ happened that night." Connor threatened, tilting his head to the side as he kept his eyes locked on Kate.

"You wouldn't." Kate's smirk slowly returned, but her grip tightened around his thigh.

"Oh, I would." Connor seriously said. His other hand reached for his coffee and he poured the hot liquid onto Kate's hand, getting her to let go of him and let out a pained gasp. Connor blinked as some of the coffee got on him, but he didn't flinch back in pain. He let go of Kate's shirt and sat back in his seat.

"Get the fuck out of my car, Kate." Connor seriously said, wiping off the liquid from his pants.

Kate cradled her burnt hand with her other hand and glared at him for a moment before pushing out of the car and then violently slamming the door. Connor let out a sigh and waited for Kate to be out of sight before he smacked his hand against the steering wheel out of frustration and anger. He sat back in his seat, running his hands through his hair and scrubbing his hands through his hair before taking a breath. Connor dug his hand into his pocket for his phone, dialing Derek's number,

"Hey, we need to talk." Connor said as Derek picked up.

* * *

Leah set the brownies out to cool and rubbed her hands on her thighs, trying to think of something else she could do. Her mind still hadn't strayed from thinking about what happened the previous night and she needed something to do to keep the worms from squirming or from remember the taste of Stiles' lips—salty, but mixed with the taste of Coke. So she walked around the island and went up the stairs into her bedroom.

Heading for her closet, Leah yanked her tee over her head and bra off, exchanging them for a tank and a sports bra. She slipped off her leggings and pulled on a pair of running shorts. Gathering her hair up in a ponytail, Leah shoved her feet into her running sneakers and grabbed her earbuds before heading out of her room.

Leah decided to go on a run through the town as another way to try and shut her mind off and stop thinking about Stiles. Avoiding the thought of him and what had happened was proving harder than she thought, so she was willing to try anything.

For as long as Leah lived in Beacon Hills, not much had changed. The suburbs of Beacon Hills were close to the quiet town area, letting her run through her neighborhood and into the town. The only time Leah was in town was when she had to work or went out to dinner with her parents. Most of her time was split between school and home, and most recently, the Preserve. Before the supernatural invaded her life, Leah thought the town of Beacon Hills was the most boring place in the USA. She couldn't get away with anything or do anything without someone seeing her and immediately telling her parents. Everyone knew everyone. Even as Leah ran through the town, random adults waved to her and Leah pretended to be too focused to notice.

At a crosswalk, Leah waited for the light to turn green and took the opportunity to look around herself and gather her bearings. She saw someone excitedly waving at her from across the street and Leah lifted her hand to her forehead, squinting to see who it was. The light turned green and Leah jogged across the street, realizing who it was as she got halfway across.

"Oh my God, Heather!" Leah's face broke out into a smile as she took out her earbuds and picked up her pace, running over to her friend and meeting her hug.

"Hi, hi hi!" Heather grinned as she wrapped her arms around Leah's sweaty figure.

"Sorry, I'm so gross." Leah laughed as she stepped back from Heather. Heather waved her hand in the air, motioning that it didn't matter. Leah planted her hands on her hips and gave Heather a once over as she caught her breath. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, shopping, of course." Heather said as if Leah should know and held up the bags as evidence. Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded at her friend.

"Typical." Leah made a face and Heather laughed a little.

"Oh, I meant to call you earlier and wish you a happy birthday!" Heather reached out for Leah, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your dinner."

"Oh, it's fine." Leah made a face and waved her hand in the air.

"I do have a gift for you though." Heather perked up, "I was going to drop it off on my way home today."

"Heather, you didn't have to get me anything." Leah rolled her eyes as Heather scoffed,

"Please, of course I did." Heather paused for a moment, "I was actually gonna go to Sabrina's for a little caffeine boost, do you wanna come with me?" She invited Leah. Leah made a face and shrugged,

"Yeah, I don't see why not." Heather gave her an excited squeal.

"Okay, perfect. Let me drop these off and then I can get your present and we can catch up!" Heather's excitement was infectious and Leah couldn't help but laugh at her.

Heather O'Connell had met Leah around the same time she had met Stiles. The three of them were babysat together and then Heather and Leah went to summer camp together when they were nine until they were thirteen. They had shared a bunkbed and were extremely close at camp, never really seeing each other during the school year since Heather was enrolled in a different school district. Leah hadn't seen Heather for a few weeks; the werewolf stuff had taken over Leah's entire life and Leah was grateful she had run into Heather so she could have a break and a distraction.

Sabrina's was a small café in Beacon Hills—Leah rarely went there, stopping in only if she was with her mom, but Heather seemed to be a frequent visitor; everyone knew her name. Leah rolled her eyes at that; of course everyone knew Heather, she made friends with everyone. Heather brought Leah a tea along with her coffee and a muffin for them to split. The two of them settled down in the massive loveseats and Heather set the gift bag on the table in between them, grinning at Leah.

"Oh my God, Heather." Leah rolled her eyes again but couldn't help but smile, "You honestly didn't have to get me anything."

"Just open it." Heather urged, leaning forward and watching Leah intently. Leah set her tea down and reached out for the bag. She set it on her lap and started to dig through the tissue paper, pulling out a photo album and a friendship bracelet. "It's just a bunch of stuff I found from our summers at camp! Figured you like it." Heather explained with an excited grin and a sparkle in her eye. Leah shook her head at Heather's crafting, setting the bag on the ground and opening the album.

"God, we were so cute." Heather sighed out.

"Yeah, we were…" Leah trailed off as she looked at all the photos that Heather had found.

She had gone out of her way to put the album together for Leah and find all of the stuff. There were pictures of them at the pool, the rock wall, making s'mores in their three sizes too big sweatshirts. There was a picture of them as partners for the egg toss, egg all over Heather's smiling face. Leah couldn't help but softly smile at the picture of the two of them sitting on the cabin bunkbeds.

"Cabin five was such a shit hole." Leah whispered out, laughing to herself.

"Oh my God, _I know!"_ Heather laughed, "We never won for cleanest cabin."

"Never!" Leah laughed back, looking up at her, "And the toilet never worked so we would—"

"Always go to cabin four!" Heather finished for Leah, waving her coffee cup around as she laughed, "But that was where all the older girls were."

"Horrifying." Leah shuddered and looked back at the pictures. "Thanks, Heather." Leah said, looking back up at her, "Seriously." Leah closed the album and placed it back in the bag, going to tie the friendship bracelet around her wrist. She noticed Heather's matching one and let herself smile a bit at the sight of it.

"So," Heather prompted, sitting back in her seat, "What've I missed?" Leah raised her eyebrows and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing much, just lacrosse and school. The usual." Leah lied as Heather eyed her.

"Wasn't there an attack at the high school a few nights ago?" Heather asked. Leah let out a slow breath and nodded.

"Yeah, this guy, Derek Hale, went on a like rampage. Trapped a bunch of us in the school." Leah gave the short version. Heather raised her eyebrows at Leah, setting down her coffee cup.

"Wait, you were there?"

"Well, not really." Leah made a face, "I ran away before he could get me."

"Oh, god, Leah." Heather frowned, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Leah shrugged as Heather reached out to her, "You know you can call me if you need anything, right?"

"No, I know." Leah gave her a grateful smile and nodded. She picked up her tea and took a small sip of it as Heather sat back in her seat,

"How's Stiles?" Heather asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Leah took in a sharp breath, causing some of the tea to go down the wrong pipe. Leah started to cough and Heather looked alarmed as Leah set the tea down. Leah got herself together and took in a small breath, "You good?" Heather asked, looking worried.

"Yeah, sorry…" Leah waved at herself, motioning that it just went down the wrong pipe.

"So?" Heather asked, eyebrows raising, "How's Stiles?"

"Uhm, good, I guess." Leah swallowed and licked her lips, shrugging before she responded, "I mean we don't—we aren't really…we still…"

"Hate each other?" Heather finished, an amused smile on her face, "Glad to see things never change." Leah gave her a tight smile and fiddled with her earlobe, getting Heather's attention. Her brow furrowed, "What?"

"Nothing." Leah pulled the corners of her lips down as Heather stared at her, "Okay, promise not to tell anyone?"

"Duh." Heather rolled her eyes. Leah took in a breath and leaned forward, telling Heather the entirety of what happened at Allison's, including how she kissed Stiles.

"Oh…my god." Heather's eyes were wide as Leah finished her story. Leah placed her head in her hands and let out another groan,

"And I don't know what to do." Leah groaned, "I don't know how to fix it. I don't —I can't deal with things changing." Leah looked up at Heather and she gave Leah a small smile.

"Okay, well, you could just pretend like nothing happened." Heather offered, "Just like move on." Heather pulled the corners of her lips down and motioned with her hands, "Or you could own up to it and blame it on the alcohol."

"Do you think he'll believe it?" Leah asked, feeling small. She had never felt so vulnerable before and it scared her, but she trusted Heather to tell her how it was supposed to be.

"He's a dude, of course he will." Heather rolled her eyes, "Just say Allison dared you and you were drunk and it didn't mean anything." Leah chewed on her bottom lip, "I'm sure if you say it in the tone you usually use with him then he'll believe it." Leah swallowed and nodded as Heather eyed her, "But I do think you should tell him about the crush."

"No." Leah shook her head, sitting up straighter.

"I mean, not like _right now_ , but in the near future." Heather said, "Crushes make everything hurt so it would be good to air it out."

"And if he doesn't feel the same?" Leah asked, eyebrows raising.

"Then it's gonna suck." Heather simply said, with a shrug, "But you'll be happier cause you told him and you can get back to hating him."

"I _already_ hate him." Leah mumbled. Heather scoffed at her friend and shook her head,

"Sure, _okay_." Heather made her eyes wide and her voice deeper. Leah glanced up at her and gave her a small smile.

The girls spent another two hours catching up with each other and Leah realized how good it was to actually talk to someone about what was going on with her and Stiles. She was able to put it to the side and not worry about it as much as she did previously. Heather got her mind off of Stiles by telling her all about her incredibly ordinary life. It was strange how drastically different Heather's life was from Leah's simply because there were no supernatural beings involved.

"It was so good running into you." Heather said as the two hugged goodbye. Leah gave Heather a small smile before stepping back.

"Thank you for the presents." Leah said, holding up her wrist. Heather held up hers and gave her a big smile.

"I'll see you around." Heather waved goodbye to Leah, walking out of the coffee shop. Leah gathered up her gift bag and walked out after Heather, heading back to her house.

Leah was feeling a little bit better as she walked back home. The memory of what happened between her and Stiles was way back in her mind and all she could think about were her and Heather's time together. It felt nice to not worry about something as stupid as a kiss or feelings. But as much as she wished things wouldn't change between her and Stiles, things _were_ changing. The kiss was a catalyst and Leah was unaware of what the aftereffects were going to be.

Arriving home, Leah went straight to her bedroom and saw that Scott's light was on in his room. She opened her window and climbed out onto the tree, maneuvering her way over to Scott's. She tapped on his window, getting his attention from where he laid in his bed. Scott lifted his head and gave her a lazy smile, rolling over so she could have room to enter. Leah rolled into the room, ending up on her back on Scott's bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Have you moved at all?" Leah asked.

"No." Scott mumbled from under his covers.

"Nice." Leah made a face and nodded. She shifted on the bed, flipping herself so she was on her stomach and eye to eye with Scott, "How ya feeling?"

"Not great." Scott sounded miserable. Leah felt a bit guilty for ditching her best friend in his time of need. She swallowed and nodded before shimmying under the covers so she was warm like him. "You smell." Scott mumbled.

"Thanks." Leah responded, rolling her eyes at Scott, "I just went for a run." Scott shook his head, or tried to,

"I mean you smell like her, Allison." Scott explained. Leah's brow furrowed and she felt another pang of guilt shoot through her.

"Oh, Scott, I'm sorry." Leah immediately went to get out of the bed, but Scott stopped her.

"It's fine." Scott gave her a small smile as Leah swallowed, "Can you just lay here for a second?"

"Scott, I don't think that's a good idea." Leah softly said. Scott's hand was on her arm, "Let me shower and then I'll come back."

"Just another minute." Scott 's voice was quiet and Leah couldn't help but feel for him. She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Scott, it's not healthy." Leah explained, "Me smelling like your ex isn't helping you get over her any faster."

"I don't wanna get over her." Scott mumbled, shoving his face back into his pillow. Leah gave him a small smile and patted his head.

"I know." Leah sighed. There was a minute of silence and Leah played with Scott's hair for a moment before getting out of the bed, heading for his dresser.

"Are you coming tonight?" Scott asked, lifting his head up as Leah grabbed a tee and a pair of sweats from Scott's dresser, "Out to the woods with me and Stiles?" Leah closed her eyes and took in a breath, turning to look at her best friend.

"Uh, no, I don't think so." Leah scrunched her nose up and shook her head, "I—There's some family thing happening tonight." Leah lied.

Scott caught her lie, but didn't press on it, just nodding and putting his face back into the pillow. Leah took in a breath and went into the bathroom. A few moments later, Scott heard the sound of the shower starting and moved over to where Leah was laying, breathing in what was left of Allison's scent.

After her shower, Leah made Scott get out of bed so they could change his sheets so there would be no underlying scent of Allison. She grabbed her clothes and tossed them out towards her house, reminding herself to pick them up later that evening. Leah remade Scott's bed and then Scott promptly fell back into it, only to have Leah push him out of bed and into the shower since he hadn't moved in forty-eight hours. She left while he was in the shower, knowing he would want to talk about her night at Allison's and Leah couldn't deal with that again.

Leah closed her window and turned away from Scott's room, climbing onto her bed and curling up in a ball. Webster jumped up onto her bed and situated herself at her feet, but other than that, Leah was alone with her thoughts. She rolled onto her back and stared at her star decorated ceiling. Taking in a sigh, Leah sat up in her bed, moving off of it and grabbing her phone from her desk. She walked out of her bedroom and headed down the stairs as her mom walked in from her shift.

"Hi, sweetie." Tara gave Leah a warm smile as Leah went to hug her mom.

"Hey, Mom." Leah mumbled into her mom's chest. She hugged her mom for a moment before stepping back, following Tara into the kitchen. Tara took in the two sets of brownies and then glanced to Leah, who shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it again and luckily, Tara understood.

"Whatta wanna do for dinner?" Tara asked.

"Nothing, if you're cooking." Leah responded, leaning her elbows against the island. Her mom gave her a very unamused look and Leah grinned at her, "We could just do pizza and watch a movie." Leah suggested, pulling her shoulders up. Tara did a double take, raising her eyebrows up.

"You wanna do our tradition?" Tara asked, a small smile on her face.

"If by that you mean, breakfast pizza and _Boomerang_ , then yes." Leah said, with a knowing smile on her face. Tara grinned at her daughter and nodded at her,

"Okay." Tara nodded, "I'm not questioning this, but I'm questioning it." Tara said, dropping her chin to her chest, "Did you get in trouble or something?"

" _What?_ No." Leah shook her head, laughing a bit, "Can't I just want to hang out with my mom?"

"Hey, yeah, I won't say no to that." Tara put her hands up.

"Okay then." Leah gave her mom a smile, "I'll order the pizza then." Leah turned away from her mom and stepped out of the kitchen, tapping away at her phone.

It wasn't like Leah was opposed to hanging out with her mom; her mom and her got along really well. And Leah figured staying in with her mom was the much more appeasing option than going out with Scott…and seeing Stiles. She still wanted to avoid him for as long as she could. Plus, it had been awhile since Leah and Tara had their dinner tradition and Leah was grateful for the distraction.

Tara and Leah settled on the couch, Tara balancing her plate on top of her stomach while Leah held a slice in each hand. The opening credits of _Boomerang_ played and soon Leah was lost in the world of Marcus and Angela. Leah and her mom watched the entirety of the movie, almost quoting the entire thing since they had watched it so many times.

By the end, Tara was softly crying to herself while Leah felt herself getting uncomfortable. She regretted choosing a love story movie in her current state, but it was part of the tradition. Leah glanced over to her mom, seeing that she was tearing up as the credits rolled. Tara reached over and grabbed Leah, pressing her against her side and playing with her hair. Leah sighed; her mom always got this way after they watched the movie.

"God, it's just so beautiful, you know?" Tara asked.

"Yep." Leah nodded against her mom's chest. She stayed in her position against her mom until the credits finished rolling. "Want a brownie?" Leah asked, glancing up at her mom.

"Yes, yes, we need brownies." Tara nodded and pushed Leah's head off of her so she could push herself up off the couch. Leah rolled her eyes at her mom and laughed a little as she cleaned up their plates before following her mom into the kitchen.

"How was, uh, how was your day?" Tara asked, wiping under her nose as she cut into the brownies,

"Good." Leah nodded, "Baked, went on a run, hung out with Heather O'Connell, checked in on Scott…"

"How's Heather?" Tara asked, looking up from the brownies, "Still bubbly and a little _too much?"_

"Oh yeah." Leah laughed, "But she gave me an album full of old camp pictures which was really nice."

"Awh, that's so sweet." Tara pouted at Leah, "Good, I'm glad you had a good day. Is Scott doing okay?" Tara asked as she took out four brownies, handing two to Leah.

"I mean, he's not dealing with it." Leah sighed, "It's hard, I guess." Tara nodded sympathetically,

"First breakups are always tough."

"He's hanging out with Stiles tonight, so hopefully Stiles does _something_ helpful." Leah raised her eyebrows up as Tara bit into her brownie,

"You aren't going?" Tara asked around her brownie. "You guys have all been attached to each other for the past few weeks."

"I guess," Leah made a face, "But it's like a guys' night." Leah shrugged and bit into her brownie, "Have you heard from Connor?" Leah asked, changing the subject. Tara nodded,

"Mhm." She placed her brownie on the napkin, "He came into the station earlier to talk about Derek, who, honey, we should really talk about."

"No, Mom, we don't have to." Leah shook her head, "I barely knew him."

"But, still, sweetie." Tara reached out to her, "I know that with everything happening with Laura and Derek, a lot of things are coming back up and I know you must feel a lot of…emotions right now." Leah stayed quiet, glancing away from her mom, "But you know you can talk to me about it, right?"

"I know." Leah said, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she looked back up at her mom, "I know, Mom." Tara gave her a sympathetic smile and squeezed Leah's hand.

"Okay." Tara nodded, "Love you."

"Love you too." Leah responded, stepping back from her mom, "Tonight was fun." She said reaching out to get her brownies. Tara nodded at her and Leah gave her mom a small smile before turning away and walking out of the kitchen, heading towards her room.

Back in her room, Leah placed her napkin full of brownies on the nightstand and then climbed onto her bed. She grabbed her laptop and opened Netflix, queuing up the episode of _Leverage_ she left off on. But Leah could barely pay attention; she was thinking about her conversation with her mom. Every time Tara brought up the Hales, she was careful as if she didn't want Leah to burst out into tears or talked like Leah was _supposed_ to have an emotional reaction. But instead, Leah felt nothing.

Sighing, Leah paused her episode and grabbed the photo album Heather had given to her. She got off her bed and went back downstairs, wanting to put the album in the trunk in the living room as well as go through some of the old photo albums.

Tara was still in the kitchen, spread out at the table and working on some case files, so Leah settled onto the floor in front of the trunk in the living room, opening it carefully. She set Heather's album on top of the blankets before reaching for the album on top, marked with the same year that she found the birthday party picture.

Opening the album, Leah glanced through the pictures, smiling at the pictures of young Connor and her younger self. Drew had documented all of their family trips, even if it was to just get pizza. Turning one of the pages, Leah's eyes fell on her and an unfamiliar girl. Leah pulled the picture out of the sleeve and flipped it over, seeing her dad's handwriting on the back, _Leah and Cora :)_ Leah's brow furrowed as she looked at the picture again, realizing the girl had the same facial features and hair color as Derek did.

Before Leah could ponder it anymore, her phone buzzed. She set the picture down and reached for her phone, seeing Stiles' name on the screen. Leah felt the worms start squirming and her heart dropped into her stomach. She quickly ignored the call and slid the picture back into the sleeve, closing the album and putting it in the trunk. As she stood up, Leah closed the trunk, reaching down for her phone as it buzzed again. She swallowed and ignored Stiles' call, heading for the stairs.

Her phone buzzed twice as Leah got into her bedroom, indicating she had a text. Leah glanced down and slid her finger against the screen, opening the text, not realizing that her hands were shaking.

 _i have a question i want to ask you a question thats why i was calling._ Stiles' text read. Leah pressed her back against her closed door as her screen showed Stiles was texting. Then he stopped texting and suddenly, Leah's phone lit up with a call from Stiles. Leah took in a breath and felt her ears heat up before she decided to fuck it and answer it.

"Hi." Leah slowly said, mentally preparing to defend herself about what happened at Allison's.

 _"Heeeeyyyy!"_ Stiles cheered out, " _You answered! Finally!"_ He laughed and Leah let out a slow breath; he was drunk.

"What did you want to ask me?" Leah quickly asked, wanting the conversation to be over.

 _"Oh right! Right! Listen…I'm out with Scott and I needed to call you because….I have a very important question."_ Stiles made his voice lower. " _I need your help."_

 _"_ With what?" Leah asked, picking at Scott's sweatpants.

 _"No, I don't need your help, I just need your opinion."_ Stiles paused, " _DoyouthinkIhaveachancewithLydia?"_ Stiles quickly asked out.

"What?" Leah's brows furrowed,

" _Cause I mean, I was talking with Scott—where is he, oh he's over there, he's fine, okay. I was talking to Scott about girls in the sea and how he should just move on from Allison cause he's all grumpy about it, like a real grumpy wolf, and then I realized something! You kissed me last night, which was…weird, but whatever ANYWAY, it made me remember when we kissed at Lydia's and then…and then I realized I should just go for it! With Lydia, you know?"_ Stiles laughed, " _I should just ask Lydia out! Cause I love her! Screw the five year plan!"_

"You had a five year plan?" Leah softly asked, slowly wrapping her brain around what Stiles was saying.

" _Of course!"_ Stiles laughed again, " _I think, even though you ruined my first chance, I could get a do over. I think she's attracted to me."_ Stiles confidently said. Leah felt her stomach begin to drop and she pulled the phone away from her ear, ending her call with Stiles before he could continue rambling about how in love with Lydia he was. She slid down against the door and pulled her knees to her chest. Her phone buzzed twice and Leah looked at Stiles' message:

 _hey where'd you go!_

 _i wanna talk to you about this_

 _i miss you wish you were here with us i_

Leah didn't bother finish reading it. She locked her phone and folded herself over so she was laying flat on her stomach on the ground. She couldn't help the tears from forming; Stiles was in love with Lydia. Of course he was—he didn't even care about the kiss and Leah didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. All she knew was that hearing Stiles go on about Lydia was killing her.

Her phone buzzed twice again and Leah pulled her arm over her head to look at Stiles' text,

 _are you mad at me?_ It read. Another one came in right after it, _why are you mad at me? are you mad at me?_

 _i don't hate you, i like you._

 _do you hate me?_

 _dont be mad at me._

Leah took in a breath and closed her eyes, resting her phone against her forehead for a moment before sighing. Opening her eyes, Leah composed a response, _not mad, just tired._ She hit send and then turned off her phone, getting off of the floor and getting ready for bed.

But before Leah could call it a night, she was interrupted by Scott tapping at her window. Leah waved him in, getting into bed as Scott climbed into her room. He gave her a lopsided smile, shoving his hands into his pockets as Leah pulled the covers over herself.

"How was drinking with Stiles?" Leah casually asked. "Are you schwasted?"

"Apparently, I can't get drunk." Scott said with a shrug, "Werewolf healing, I guess."

"Oh shit." Leah made a face and nodded, "Well…there's something new."

"Stiles drank…like the whole bottle." Scott shook his head, "Then these guys tried to jump us." Leah's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows, "I mean, I handled it." Scott shrugged again.

" _Handled it_ like _werewolf_ handled it?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Scott offhandedly said, sitting down on the edge of Leah's bed, "They left us alone, so…" Leah nodded as Scott paused, "He kept talking about you though, Stiles, I mean." Leah didn't respond, waiting for Scott to share what he knew. "Did you really kiss him?" Scott asked, raising his eyebrows.

" _Fuck me_ , I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Leah sighed, looking up at her ceiling. She heard Scott laugh lightly, "I was drunk and Allison dared me so I did it." Leah quickly explained, hoping Scott would think the lie was just embarrassment.

"Never one to back down from a challenge." Scott commented, getting Leah to look at him.

"True that." Leah gave him a half smile, "It was nothing." Leah looked down at her comforter, brows furrowing.

"Sure about that?" Scott called her out on her lie and heard Leah curse under her breath.

"It was nothing." She seriously said, looking back up at Scott, "I was drunk, Scott, okay?" Scott eyed her for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, for sure." Scott looked away from her, "Okay, I should get going. School tomorrow and all." Scott got to his feet and looked down at Leah, "You know, it's okay that you like him."

"Yeah, well, I don't, so." Leah looked up at Scott, giving him a pointed look. Scott swallowed and nodded, heading for the window. Leah watched him leave before falling against her pillows,

"I don't fucking like Stiles." She repeated to herself until she fell asleep.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage, please let me know!_


	20. Not Even A Kink Jab

"After being closed Thursday and Friday, Beacon Hills High School is back open…" The news was on as Leah came down the stairs on Monday morning, scratching the back of her head. Her dad was in the kitchen watching the news on the smaller television when Leah walked in. He glanced over and lifted his coffee cup at her as Leah went to the fridge, "Police search continues for alleged killer, Derek Hale—" The television abruptly shut off. Leah closed the fridge door and squinted at her dad, who sighed at her.

"Sorry." He lamely said.

"So Mom still hasn't found Derek." Leah started, pouring herself some orange juice.

"They'll get him. She's a part of a search party that's going out to look for him tonight." Her dad nodded at Leah, "Don't worry, she'll find him."

"Great." Leah yawned before taking a sip of her orange juice and walking away from the fridge.

"You doing okay?" Drew asked, turning to watch Leah settle on the stool in front of the island. Leah nodded as she took a sip of her orange juice, "I saw the brownies." Drew glanced over his shoulder at the two tupperware containers filled with brownies.

"Just felt like baking." Leah shrugged, finishing her orange juice, "That's all really." She licked her lips as her dad raised his eyebrows at her, nodding, even though he didn't believe her.

"Feeling ready for school?" Drew asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Never." Leah groaned, slipping off of the stool and putting her glass in the sink. "But I guess I better go." She raised her eyebrows at her dad before going over to kiss his cheek, "Later."

"Love you." Drew responded.

"Love you too." Leah said as she walked out of the kitchen. She gathered up her things, already dreading the thought of school. She slept in as late as she possibly could and took her time getting ready; she had no inclination of going to school and dealing with…Stiles.

Leah knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid him for long, but it didn't mean she couldn't try. She was still feeling pretty upset with herself for what happened at Allison's and for what happened when Stiles drunk called her. Overall, it had been a shitty weekend and it seemed her brain wasn't letting her forget it, not matter how hard she tried.

Her ride to school with Scott was a silent one, both of them mulling over their past mistakes, stuck in a cycle of regret. Scott was still upset about Allison while Leah was trying to figure out ways to avoid Stiles during school.

Leah's first plan of action was to sit on the opposite side of the room during English class. Stiles didn't notice, since he had gotten to class before her. She had debated skipping class, but realized that it would be pointless; she would have to skip all of the classes they shared, which were many. Allison gave Leah a confused look as she walked into the classroom before glancing over to Stiles and her brow relaxed. She sat down in front of Leah and turned in her seat,

"Is everything okay?" Allison whispered out, "Did you guys talk?" Leah swallowed and twirled her pen in between her fingers,

"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say we talked." Leah responded, raising her eyebrows.

"And?"

"And he's in love with Lydia." Leah simply said, looking up at her friend. Allison gave Leah a sympathetic smile and looked over to Stiles before looking back at her,

"I'm sorry." Leah made a face at Allison's apology,

"I mean, it's fine. I'm well aware of it. Nothing's changed." Leah shrugged as the bell rang. Allison gave her an understanding smile and turned around in her seat as the class began.

She managed to make it through her english class without any causalities. Leah stayed quiet and didn't answer any questions, trying not to draw attention to herself. The period seemed longer, and at some points, Leah found her eyes flicking over to the back of Stiles' head, watching him take notes or hear him try to answer a question about the reading. But once the bell rang, Leah all about jumped out of her seat, pushing past Allison and heading out of the classroom before anyone could talk to her.

While Leah was walking to Chemistry, she saw her mom and the sheriff walking out of the principal's office. Leah felt her stomach drop; it was never good whenever her mom and the sheriff were at school. As she got closer, she noticed Stiles sitting on the floor outside of the office and she quickly turned around, trying to avoid him. Tara noticed Leah and pressed a hand to the sheriff's arm, indicating that she was going to talk to Leah for a moment. The sheriff nodded and Tara caught up to Leah, one hand on her holster, the other reaching out for Leah's arm.

"Hey, honey." Tara said, turning Leah around. Leah raised her eyebrows and forced a smile on her face. Her eyes darted to see Stiles was staring at her and Leah quickly looked away, back to her mom, "Don't you have a test to get to?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do." Leah said, glancing back over her mom's shoulder and noticing that there were two men in suits standing a little ways off, talking to each other.

"Then why aren't you there?" Tara asked, getting Leah's attention.

"What's going on?" Leah asked, "Why are you here? Who are the suits?" Leah fired off her questions as Tara let her hand drop from Leah's shoulder, crossing her arms over her chest.

"State detectives." Tara answered, looking over her shoulder at the men in suits, "We're still trying to find Derek." Tara gave Leah a small smile and Leah nodded.

"Dad said you were going to go out tonight." Leah stated, beginning to get nervous; she remembered that that night was a full moon.

The boys and her already had a plan for Scott, one that was set before Leah kissed Stiles and before Stiles drunk called Leah. Leah briefly wondered how that was going to affect their evening, but decided not to dwell on it—instead, pushing it down and focusing on her mom. She didn't want her mom to be out on a full moon, especially with a rabid Alpha on the loose.

"…we're gonna get him." Tara assured her, finishing her conversation with Leah—one that Leah hadn't been paying attention to. Leah took in a breath as her mom gave her a reassuring smile.

"Just…be careful." Leah finally settled on, "Okay? I mean you're pregnant and being in the woods this late isn't—"

"I'm always careful, Lele." Tara nodded at her, reaching out to rub Leah's shoulder.

"No, Mom, just really be careful. _Especially_ tonight." Leah emphasized. Tara gave Leah a look, before laughing a bit.

"Leah, just go take your test." Tara instructed, "Leave this to us, okay?"

"Mom, please." Leah whispered, trying to get her mom to just agree that she would be careful. "You've never dealt with this before." Leah was referring to the full moon and the werewolves, but Tara thought otherwise.

"I know. Which is why we brought in the state detectives." Tara glanced over her shoulder again and Leah fell back on her foot, "Please, go take your test." She insisted, giving Leah a small smile. Leah nodded before instinctively hugging her for a moment. Tara hugged Leah back and then Leah stepped back, turning away from her mom and heading down the hall.

Although Leah was worried about her mom going on a manhunt for Derek during a full moon, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it. The sheriff's department needed to find Derek, since Leah, Stiles and Scott had pinned the murders on him, _plus_ claimed that it was him who trapped them in the school. It didn't matter to them that an Alpha werewolf was the one killing everyone; mostly, they weren't aware of the supernatural. Leah felt that it was better that way since it would keep them out of danger and the boys agreed. But still, it didn't mean that Leah couldn't worry.

Before the attack at the school, Harris had scheduled an exam for the class, which everyone was annoyed with but there was nothing they could do. So Leah filed into the exam room with the rest of her class, trying to find an empty seat towards the back corner hoping that Allison would take the seat next to her so there was no way Stiles would be stuck next to Leah. But as luck would have it, Stiles chose to sit next to her, letting out a sigh as he flopped into his seat. Leah slid down in her seat in response, trying to look smaller than she already was. Stiles glanced around the room and gave Leah a little head nod, which made Leah's stomach worms start moving around again. She swallowed and pushed herself up straighter, taking a blue book and ducking her head down as Harris starting talking to those coming in late.

Tapping her pen against her desk, Leah tried to calm herself down. She kept reminding herself that Stiles was in love with Lydia, that he had called her _about Lydia._ But it wasn't helping calm down the stomach worms because her mind seemed to wander back to the kiss.

"Can you stop?" Leah's head flicked up and over to see Scott glaring at her, seriously _glaring_ at her. Leah's eyebrows went up and Scott pointedly looked to where Leah was furiously tapping her pen on her desk.

"Oh," Leah stopped her pen, "Sorry." Scott shook his head, not responding to her as he turned back around in his seat. Leah frowned and pulled her sleeves over her hands as Harris addressed the class.

"You have forty-five minutes to complete the test. Twenty-five percent of your grade can be earned right now simply by writing your name on the cover of the blue book." Leah quickly scribbled her name on the cover as Harris continued to talk, "However, as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put your name on the cover, and I'll be left yet again questioning my decision to ever become a teacher. So let's get the disappointment over with." He paused for a moment before saying, "Begin."

Leah flipped open the cover of the blue book, starting the test with the rest of the class. She was actually pretty good at her science based classes, maybe not as smart as Lydia Martin, but she hadn't ever gotten below an A minus. It was one of her favorite subjects and, as much as she disliked Harris, the content came easy for her and was actually interesting—especially biology.

Chewing on the end of her hair, Leah was halfway through the test when Scott suddenly got up out of his seat and ran from the room, bag and all. Leah's head flicked up, watching him go and she didn't even pause before getting up and following after him, Stiles on her heels as Harris called after them. Leah didn't realize Stiles was following her until they got out into the hallway when she turned to look down one way, finding Stiles standing next to her rather than Scott. Leah took in a small breath and then shook her head; now was not the time for her teenage angst.

Spotting Scott's backpack at the end of the hall, the two of them walked over to it and Stiles crouched down to pick it. Leah looked around herself, seeing if Scott had reappeared as Stiles took out his phone. Turning her head at the sound of Scott's ringtone, Leah walked past Stiles, following the tune.

As the pair got closer to the boys' locker room, the tune got louder and Leah broke out into a slight jog, getting to the locker room faster. Scott's ringtone ended as Leah reached the entrance, Stiles coming up next to her. Leah stepped inside, fearing the worst, but noticed the locker room was empty, the only sound coming from the showers. Stiles and Leah exchanged a quick look as Stiles hiked up Scott's backpack on his shoulder, starting forward. Leah was a few steps behind him as they walked to the showers and Leah expected that Scott had shifted, but instead, he was standing under the shower, shirtless and breathing rapidly.

Scott turned the shower off and turned to at his friends, eyes wide and full of worry as he tried to slow his breathing. His back was against the wall as he looked in between the pair,

"I can't—" Scott started to say.

"What's happening?" Leah began to panic, as Stiles asked, "Are you shifting?"

"No." Scott shook his head, "No,—I can't…breathe." Stiles' eyes widened and he quickly went into Scott's backpack, pulling out Scott's inhaler.

"Here, use this." Scott looked confused as he took in another hitching breath, "Come on, do it."

Leah's brow furrowed and she chewed on the end of her hair as Scott took the inhaler from Stiles' hand, bringing it to his mouth. After taking a puff, Scott seemed to calm down and looked down at the inhaler before looking back up at his friends.

"I was having an asthma attack?" Scott asked, taking in a deep breath. Leah relaxed and spit out her hair, letting her arm drop to her side, the other was across her midsection. Scott shifted his stance, obviously a lot calmer than he was a few moments before.

"No, you were having a panic attack." Stiles pointed out. Leah licked her lips and kept her eyes trained on Scott as Stiles explained himself, "But thinking you were having an asthma attack actually stopped the panic attack. _Irony_." Leah took in a breath through her nose and glanced at Stiles,

"You used to get them a lot after your mom died, right?" Leah quietly asked, getting Stiles to look at her. He nodded slightly and then both of them looked back at Scott.

"Not fun, huh?" He asked Scott, who shook his head in response.

"I looked at her, and it was like someone hit me in the ribs with a hammer." Scott explained. Leah realized he was talking about Allison and she took in a deep breath, glancing over to Stiles, who wasn't paying attention to her.

"Yeah, it's called heartbreak." Stiles rocked back on his heels, "About two _billion_ songs written about it." Stiles tilted his head to the side, making a face before glancing at Leah, who quickly looked away and back to Scott. Scott was staring at her, almost like he was waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sorry." Leah lamely said, "I'm sorry this is so shitty. You just…gotta get over her."

"How can I do that when you're still hanging out with her?" Scott bit out, pushing up against the shower wall to stand up a bit straighter. Leah raised her eyebrows and pushed her bottom lip out along with her chin,

"What am I supposed to do?" Leah asked, " _Not_ be friends with her?"

"I can't stop thinking about her." Scott sighed, not answering Leah's rhetorical question.

"Well, you could think about this: her dad's a werewolf hunter, and you're a werewolf, so it was bound to become an issue." Stiles pointed out, motioning with his hands.

"Dude, I mean, yeah, you got dumped, and it's supposed to suck." Leah agreed, going the more normal route.

"No, that's not it." Scott shook his head, water still dripping from his hair, "I mean, yeah, it's the breakup, but it's more than that." Scott paused, "It was like I could feel everything in the room, everyone else's emotions."

"It's gotta be the full moon." Stiles shrugged, "So we'll lock you up in your room later just like we planned. That way the Alpha, who is _your boss_ , can't get to you, either."

"Wait, I thought we declared his boss innocent?" Leah asked, brows furrowing, "Did I miss something?" Neither of the boys answered her as Scott stepped closer to them,

"I think we need to do a lot more than lock me in my room."

"What? You mean because if you get out, you'd be caught by hunters?" Stiles asked.

"No. Because if I get out…I think I might kill someone." Scott seriously said. Leah felt her breath catch as she stared at her best friend.

* * *

The sound of something slamming suddenly woke Connor up from his nap. He took in a deep breath and looked around the burnt down living room. There was no sign of Derek and Connor figured he had to be upstairs. Pushing various papers off of him, Connor sat up from the couch, heading up the stairs and seeing his best friend in the middle of the floor, surrounded by papers.

"You okay?" Connor asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Fine." Derek gritted out. "I need to find the Alpha."

"This the full moon talking or…?" Connor trailed off as Derek took in a breath.

"Both." Derek settled on. Connor nodded and raised his eyebrows, rubbing his fingers over the bridge of his nose.

"Are you ready for tonight?"

"I'll be fine." Derek seriously said.

"Really?" Connor raised his brows, "Cause last I remember, you needed the Triskelion to help you."

"I was sixteen." Derek responded, glancing over his shoulder at Connor, "I'm fine now. I have an anchor."

"Which is?" Connor asked.

"Anger." Derek shortly said, "Focusing on anger, aggression, keeps me human." Derek explained.

"Well, you sure have _plenty_ of that." Connor scoffed out, picking at the paint on the doorframe. Derek heard the jab and took in a sharp breath through his nose,

"Is there something you want to talk about?" Derek prompted. Connor pulled the corners of his mouth down and shook his head,

"No, just thinking about how there's a sixteen year old beta about to experience his first _real_ full moon and you're here, chasing a dead end instead of helping him." Connor made a face, "But it's fine, he has Leah and Stiles, who I'm sure will be _just fine_."

"You did just fine." Derek reminded him.

"I was _forced_ to do just fine." Connor shot back.

"What is it with you and this kid?" Derek asked, getting to his feet, "I'm not his Alpha, remember?" Derek turned to look at Connor,

"Yeah, but you want to help him. You keep saying you want to help him, but all you're doing is helping yourself!" Connor laughed out, pulling his shoulders up.

"The Alpha killed Laura, remember? Right now, this is a _little_ more important than a couple of teenagers who _framed me for murder!"_ Derek shouted out, reminding Connor that he was currently the most wanted man in the state. Connor pursed his lips and took in a breath,

"You're right." He said after a moment, "You're not Scott's Alpha." Connor paused, "But whoever is, still has control over him, still has control over what he does and don't you think tonight's the _perfect_ night to make him a part of his pack?" Connor tilted his head to the side, staring at Derek for a moment before walking away.

* * *

Leah walked out of the locker room before Scott and Stiles did, still a bit shaken over Scott's confession. Paired with how he was acting towards Leah, she should've realized the full moon was having a negative effect on him. Even if the full moon hadn't risen yet, it was still looming, which meant Scott's wolf side was bound to be a bit stronger. It made sense that everything was just as intense as it was the first time around.

The bell had rung while Leah was walking down the hall, which meant that she had missed the rest of the exam time. Leah let out a sigh as she walked into the emptying classroom, Allison was already gone. She went over to her desk, picking up her things and circling random answers before handing her test in to Harris. Harris gave her a look, which Leah ignored, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She glanced back to make sure she had everything, only to see that Stiles had come into the classroom to grab his things. Leah headed for the door as Stiles walked to hand in his exam.

"Hey." Stiles called after her as they got out into the hallway. Leah paused, closing her eyes as she regretted her reaction; she should've just ignored him, "So I think we need to get something better than handcuffs." Stiles continued as he walked up to her, "I can stop by the sports store and get chains and stuff." He suggested as Leah began walking. He fell into step next to her, "Maybe a couple other restraints. There's gotta be a whole section for that stuff, right?"

"Yeah." Leah answered, not looking at him.

"Or you could go beforehand. Or we could go together." Stiles rambled.

"It's up to you." Leah sighed out, eyes on the cafeteria door. She felt her phone buzz and looked down to see there was a text from Lydia, reminding her that they had to work on our History questions. If it were any other day, Leah would be annoyed with the text she had just received, but this time, she was more grateful than anything; it got her out of being with Stiles. Even if it did mean she had to spend time with Lydia, Leah was at a place where she would rather be with Lydia than with Stiles—that's how uncomfortable she was.

"Are you okay?" Stiles suddenly asked, putting a hand on Leah's arm to stop her from walking. Leah froze and tensed up, stepping to the side as the worms started moving around in her stomach.

"I'm fine." Leah said, putting her phone back into her pocket.

"You sure? Cause you've been off like _all_ day." Stiles laughed a little, not noticing Leah's reaction to his touch. Leah didn't respond, causing Stiles to explain, "I mean, I — not even a kink jab? Or—or a joke about a sex shop when I mentioned restraints." Stiles grinned at her as Leah rolled lips her together and crossed her arms over her chest, "Leah?" Stiles stopped walking, glancing over at her, smile dropping a bit. Leah took in a breath and looked at him,

"I'll see you at practice." Leah finally said, giving him a tight smile before kicking her foot out and walking away from him.

Her fingers went to her necklace, playing with the vial of mountain ash as she walked down the hall to find Lydia in the library. She didn't bother looking over her shoulder, forcing herself to not care if Stiles was still standing in the middle of the hall. If she had looked, she would've seen Stiles watching her walk away, brow furrowing in confusion before he shook his head and walked into the cafeteria.

Lydia was set up at one of the round tables in the center of the library so Leah immediately spotted her. Letting out a sigh, Leah walked over to her and set her bag down on the ground next to the empty chair. Lydia was sitting straight up and tapped her pen against the table as Leah pulled out her textbook.

"Sorry, I completely forgot that we were meeting." Leah said, scooting her chair forward.

"It's fine. All of us are a little scatterbrained after what happened." Lydia airily said.

"Right." Leah nodded, reminded that Lyda was also trapped in the school. It seemed like no one else in school knew that the group was trapped. The sheriff's station had managed to keep everyone's names out of the papers, mostly because the group was a bunch of minors, but Leah was still grateful. "Crazy times." Leah breathed out, opening her book. She glanced up at Lydia, seeing that she was staring at her.

"Thank you." Lydia finally said, "For getting help."

"Oh, uhm—" Leah let out a short cough, shifting on her chair, "It was nothing." Leah shook her head, a little thrown off by Lydia's gratitude, "Just wish I was in there with you guys so I could help." Leah gave Lydia a small smile, "Heard you made a…self-igniting Molotov cocktail." Lydia tilted her head to the side, a knowing smirk gracing her features, "What issue of _Cosmo_ was that in?" Leah asked, not hiding her amused smile. Lydia gave her a knowing look before opening her textbook.

The two of them worked through the first couple of questions, but Leah's mind kept drifting back to Stiles. And what he said about being in love with Lydia. Leah studied Lydia for a minute, trying to see what Stiles saw in her. Sure, Lydia was smart—Stiles probably knew that, since he kept such close tabs on the girl. And it didn't help that Lydia was beautiful, her makeup was perfect and her hair was always looking like she had just come from the salon. Not to mention her clothes looked like she had Cher's closet from _Clueless_. Lydia was everything Leah wasn't, look-wise. Leah realized that maybe she could use Lydia to her advantage; maybe if she started to look and act like Lydia, she would grab Stiles' attention.

"Can I ask you something?" Leah abruptly asked Lydia. Lydia raised her eyebrows at Leah, "It's, uhm, kinda weird." Leah continued. Her knees were up against her chest, notebook resting against her legs, "I mean, not _weird_ , but weird for me." Leah made a face.

"What?" Lydia sighed, preparing for the worst.

"How—Do—" Leah made a face, not really knowing how she wanted to phrase her question, "Okay, so hypothetically—No—"

" _Leah_." Lydia rolled her head back, "Just spit it out!"

"What do you do if you start to like one of your friends? But you aren't supposed to like him because _ew_ and he just sees you as a bro but you want to be more than a bro." Leah made a face and chewed down on her pen, "How do I not be a bro anymore?" She finished, taking the pen out of her mouth and licked her lips, "Boy advice. I need boy advice."

"Oh, well, you've certainly come to the right person." Lydia gave Leah a charming smile. Leah swallowed.

"I feel like I made a big mistake." Leah whispered out.

"So what are we talking? In depth?" Lydia asked, leaning forward, all thoughts of history homework forgotten.

"Can you just give me like the SparkNotes version?" Leah asked, moving her hands around as she glanced at the clock.

"Makeup." Lydia held up a finger, "Wear more colors." Another finger, "And for the love of God, stop cursing." Lydia rolled her eyes in the most extra way.

"All of that sounds like torture." Leah whispered out.

"Then start small." Lydia shrugged, "If he likes you like more than a… _bro_ , he'll notice the changes." Lydia said as the bell rang. Leah nodded as Lydia started to gather up her things,

"Ah thanks, Lydia." Leah sighed out, closing her books and sitting up straight. "I know we don't usually do this…" Leah motioned in between them,

"I always love a project." Lydia gave Leah a charming smile, "Especially when it comes to makeovers." Leah frowned and titled her head to the side, squinting a bit at the small jab, but Lydia already strutted away from Leah. Leah took in a breath and thumped her forehead against the table, groaning to herself.

The rest of the school day went by smoothly; Leah didn't talk to Stiles for the rest of the day, or Scott for that matter. She went through her classes by doing as little work as possible while Lydia's advice floated around in the back of her head. Leah made a mental note to herself to hit up the local drugstore to see if she could find anything that resembled makeup, but wouldn't be too noticeable. But first, she had to get through lacrosse practice.

Leah found herself standing next to Scott, who was sitting on the bench, in the boys' locker room. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the locker, waiting for Finstock to share his announcement.

"All right, geniuses, listen up!" Finstock yelled out, getting everyone's attention, "Due to the recent pink eye epidemic—Thank you, Greenberg—the following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word _probationary_." Leah stood up a bit straighter as Finstock unfolded the piece of paper he was holding, "Rodriguez! Welcome to first line. Taylor, and, uh...Oh, for the love of crap." Leah dropped her arms from her chest, leaning forward a bit as Finstock brought the paper closer to his face,

"I can't even read my own writing. What is that, an _s_?" Leah slumped down, noticing how Stiles perked up a bit, "No, no, that's not an _s_." Stiles slumped down, "That's a—that's a—That's a _b_. It's definitely a _b_." Finstock laughed to himself before continuing, "Uh, Rodriguez, Taylor, and, uh Bilinski." Stiles' head snapped to the side and he jumped up from his seat, freaking out. He let out a whoop and Leah took in a breath, tensing up a bit.

"Bilinski!" Finstock shouted.

"Yes?" Stiles answered.

"Shut up!" Stiles laughed and fixed his pads.

"Yes, sir." He sat back down on the bench and Leah leaned back against the locker, wanting to get out onto the field and let go of her pent up energy.

"One more thing." Finstock said, holding up a finger, "From here on out, _immediately_ , we're switching to co-captains. Congratulations, McCall." Leah's jaw dropped as she reached down to lightly punch her best friend on the shoulder. She couldn't be more proud of him, but Scott seemed unfazed by the announcement.

"What?" Jackson suddenly snapped out.

"What do you mean, _what?_ Jackson, this takes nothing away from you." Finstock explained, "This is about combining separate strengths into one unit. This is about taking your unit, McCall's unit, we're making one big unit." Finstock explained, merging his hands together for emphasis, "McCall, it's you and Jackson now." Leah nodded, a massive grin on her face as she looked around the locker room, "Everybody else…asses on the field! Asses on the field!" Finstock yelled out, dismissing the team. As much as Leah hated that she wasn't on first line, she couldn't help but be happy for Scott.

"Kane!" Finstock barked out, getting Leah's attention, "My office." He motioned to Leah, waving her back into his office as the rest of the team went out to the field.

"What's up, Coach?" Leah asked, hands gripping the front of her chest pad and tugging it down a bit as she stepped inside his office.

"You're back on first line." Finstock simply said, gathering up his equipment.

"Wait, what?" Leah asked, brow furrowing, "But I thought—"

"You haven't been in trouble in the last couple of weeks and I had a _very_ lengthy talk with the vice principal." The lacrosse coach laughed, "He agreed to let me put you back on the field." Finstock finished. Leah made a face, nodding a bit.

"But I thought there were only three—"

"Are you questioning my decision, Kane?" Finstock cut her off, "I'm the coach, I decide who plays and who doesn't."

"Got it." Leah made a face and nodded, giving her coach a thumbs up, "Uh, thanks Coach." She continued, "I won't disappoint." Finstock grunted at Leah and nodded.

"Get your ass on the field, Kane." Finstock waved at her with his clipboard. Leah made her thumbs up into finger guns at her coach before backing out of his office and turning to grab her stick from where she left it on the locker room bench.

Leah headed out of the locker room, about to burst with happiness. She was back on first line, Scott was co-captain and everything else just didn't matter at the moment. Leah was too excited to worry about anything else and she couldn't wait to shove it in everyone's faces that she was back.

She turned the corner, going for the lacrosse field, and happened to glance over to one of the offices only to do a double take when she saw two people in the middle of a heated make-out session. Leah's eyes grew wide as she stepped up to the window, realizing that it was Scott and Lydia in the middle of a very heated make-out session. She couldn't help but watch as Scott's hands roamed around Lydia's back, dipping down to her ass as Lydia gripped his hair. Leah's eyes narrowed as she raised her hand to bang on the window, startling the two. Scott's head flicked up and Leah saw that his eyes were dark, Lydia glanced over her shoulder and rolled her lips in, stepping back from Scott and smoothing out her skirt. Leah slowly shook her head at them as she stepped back from the window, turning and walking away.

The door to the office opened and Leah heard Scott's cleats on the floor as he tried to catch up with her, "Leah, wait—" He said. Leah paused and took in a breath, spinning around to look at her best friend, braid whipping out behind her.

"What the _fuck?"_ Leah snapped out, "What the fuck, Scott!" Leah placed her hands against Scott's chest and shoved him back. "God, what were you thinking!? Lydia!?" Leah shoved Scott again a bit harder than before.

"I was doing exactly what you told me to do!" Scott reacted, shoving Leah back as he spoke. Leah took in a sharp breath; Scott had never laid a hand on her with the intent to hurt her before. "Right? _You're_ the one" Another shove, "who told me to get over Allison!" Scott raised his arms out and Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes,

"So you picked Lydia?" Leah raised her eyebrows, motioning to where Lydia would've been if she had come out of the office. She was getting a little angry with this new Scott she had to deal with; it wasn't her best friend.

"Is there a _problem_ with that?" Scott asked, stepping closer to Leah and tilting his head a bit. Leah squinted at him, pulling her chin back,

"I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Leah asked, pressing a hand to her chest, "You do know that Stiles is _obsessed_ with her and when he finds out, he's going to _kill you."_

"Since when do you care about Stiles?" Scott asked, squinting right back at her as he stepped closer to her, almost stalking towards her.

"I never said I cared." Leah responded, not moving from her place in the hallway as her hand dropped from her chest.

"But you do." Scott lowly said, "I can smell it on you." Scott stepped closer to Leah so they were mere inches apart, "It's coming off of you in waves…all of your _feelings_ for him."

"Shut up." Leah said through gritted teeth, fists clenching as Scott leaned closer to her. He smirked at her,

"You reek of desperation _._ "

"Fuck. You." Leah responded in a low voice as Scott continued to smirk at her. Leah took in a deep breath through her nose and then let it out slowly, trying to control the urge to smack her best friend.

Instead, she whirled around, making it so the end of her braid whipped across Scott's face as she stomped away from him, seething with anger.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	21. Full Moon Free Pass

God, Leah could not be more angry with Scott. She knew, deep down she knew, that this wasn't actually Scott—that the full moon was affecting him just as it had the first time, but for some reason, it felt worse than it was before. And Leah hated it, hated what it was doing to Scott. She just hoped he would come to his senses and realize his massive mistake— _mistakes_.

Sighing, Leah walked onto the lacrosse field, immediately spotting Stiles on the bench, going through his duffel. Leah debated on telling Stiles what had she had seen between Scott and Lydia, before deciding it wasn't her story to tell. She glanced over her shoulder to see Scott walking up behind her and she turned away from him, not wanting to be near him.

Leah sat down on the first bench, the one that didn't currently have Stiles sitting on it. Scott walked past her without a word, sitting next to Stiles. Leah saw Lydia step onto the bleachers, looking as if nothing had happened. Leah knew she had to be mad at Lydia too; she had broken the one rule that Leah knew was very important—best friends aren't supposed to go after the other's exes. Lydia didn't even wait a full week before she pounced on Scott, or whatever had happened in the locker room, all Leah knew was that Lydia didn't look like she was trying to stop it. Leah was mad, sure, but she wasn't surprised; Lydia always wanted the best and Scott, currently, was the best.

Finstock blew his whistle, getting everyone on the field to start drills. Leah was in front of Scott, facing the two defensemen. The goal was to get past the two defensemen and shoot, scoring past Danny. Leah readied herself before Finstock blew the whistle, and once the whistle blew, she scooped up the ball in her cradle and ran down the field. Harry came at her, but Leah twisted herself around him and dodged another defensemen, Eli, before flicking her wrist and sending the ball flying past Danny. She grinned to herself as she ran up to Danny to give him a high five.

Everyone liked Danny, he was the chillest guy on the team and one of the nicest, even though he was Jackson's best friend. When they were freshmen, Leah had a tiny crush on him and he was nice enough to tell her that he was flattered, but liked hot dogs instead of tacos. Leah, on the other hand, was so embarrassed that she didn't talk to him for weeks. But somehow she just got over it and everything went back to normal. Danny and Leah weren't close but she trusted him on and off the field—which is why she went to him to help track down her brother.

Leah jogged over to the sidelines where a couple other of the guys were watching. Leah pulled off her helmet and gloves before she got a high five from Kyle, "Welcome back to first line, Kane." He said with a grin. Leah returned the grin and went to stand towards the front of the group watching as Scott took his position.

She crossed her arms over her chest as Scott scooped up the ball after Coach blew his whistle. Harry and Eli teamed up and blocked Scott, knocking him to his ass. Leah bit her lip as the guys she was standing with started to laugh.

"Stop." Leah said, elbowing Kyle in the gut.

"Oh, come on, Kane." Kyle groaned, "You can't tell me you _really_ appreciate the fact that Scott's the co-captain." Kyle threw his hand out to where Scott was still on the ground. "I mean, he's great don't get me wrong, but if anything, you should be the co-captain." Leah heard Jackson snort and she looked over to him, daring him to say something. Jackson just made a face and shrugged, looking away from Leah.

"I think Scott's going to do a great job as co-captain." Leah said, looking back at Kyle, "And it would help if you guys thought so too." Leah looked back to see that Scott was back up and standing in front of Stiles.

She noticed that his stance was a bit more rigid and his breathing was heavy. Leah watched as he scooped up the ball and went full force down the field, knocking over Harry and Eli like they were bowling ball pins and heading straight for Danny. Danny stepped up, getting ready, but Scott plowed him down, throwing an elbow straight at Danny's face as he shot the ball into the net.

"Oh! My God." Leah reacted, jumping a little bit as Danny went down.

"Still think he'd be a good co-captain?" Kyle asked before running after Jackson to huddle over Danny. Leah sighed before she jogged over with the rest of the team.

She pushed to the front and saw that Danny was bleeding from the nose and when she looked up, she saw Stiles step out of the crowd, going over to Scott, who was standing a little ways off. Scott brushed Stiles off, stalking away from his friend as Leah watched. She felt someone push her aside and glanced over to see that Lydia had inserted herself into the circle. Leah made a face as Lydia looked down at Danny, seemingly worried,

"Is he okay?" She asked out as Finstock and some other team member helped Danny to his feet. Leah watched them walk off as Jackson answered Lydia,

"Yeah, it looks like he just has a bloody nose—" Jackson stopped as he looked to Lydia. Leah followed suit, seeing that Lydia's lipstick was all smudged. Lydia noticed Jackson's look and raised her eyebrows,

"What?"

"Your lipstick." Jackson motioned to his mouth as he spoke. Leah sighed as Lydia pulled out a compact to check her lipstick. The team had disbanded, going off to get a drink of water as Finstock took care of Danny. Leah glanced over to see Stiles staring at Lydia as she wiped the corner of her mouth, getting rid of the smudged lipstick. A look of realization dawned over him and he looked back over his shoulder to where Scott had stomped off.

"Oh, huh, wonder how that happened." Lydia nonchalantly said, getting Leah to look back at her. Jackson eyed her, seemingly unconvinced that it was a mystery to Lydia,

"Yeah. I wonder." Jackson mumbled before walking away from Lydia. Lydia snapped her compact closed and gave Leah a charming smile, one that Leah didn't return. Instead, she rolled her eyes and walked away from Lydia, over to the bench where the rest of the team was.

The rest of practice went by smoothly and Leah found herself going home alone, the sun setting behind her as she skated home. Scott had disappeared after he mauled Danny down and Stiles had disappeared after he saw Lydia's smudged lipstick. Leah figured he put two and two together and a part of her did feel bad for not saying anything, but it wasn't her mistake to tell—it was Scott's. He needed to take responsibility for his actions.

On her way home, Leah made a pit stop at the drugstore; she was reminded of her conversation with Lydia about how to get out of the friendzone. As much as she hated Lydia, Leah couldn't help but be aware that Lydia was so desirable because of the things she did and wore. Hell, Lydia got both Scott and Stiles' lustful attention and Leah couldn't, currently, even get a hello from either of the boys. She walked through the aisles, her bags across her shoulders as she went to the makeup aisle. Her eyes traveled over all the different brands and shades, while her brain tried to understand the names and uses of certain things. Leah spotted purple eyeliner and made a face; it could be cool to wear purple eyeliner. But then she remembered Lydia telling her to start small and Leah figured purple eyeliner was a little too much too soon. She moved over to the lipstick part, letting her fingers trail over the tubes.

"Leah?" Mrs. McCall's voice made Leah jump and knock something off of its shelf as she turned to look at Scott's mom.

"Uh, hi, Mrs. McCall." Leah responded as she tried to fix the display, trying to act casual as Mrs. McCall stepped up to Leah. Melissa was in her scrubs, hair tied back and a motherly smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, trying to play it cool.

"Oh, just picking up my dinner." Mrs. McCall held up a frozen TV dinner. "Cafeteria food isn't all that great." Leah nodded and looked back at the lipstick display, "Lipstick, huh? Can I help you with picking out a color?" Mrs. McCall asked, raising her eyebrows

"Uh...yeah." Leah bit her lip and turned back to Mrs. McCall, trying not to be embarrassed, "I've never worn any of this." Leah said, waving her hand to the makeup.

"You're pretty enough without any of it." Mrs. McCall commented, laughing a little, "Consider yourself lucky." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded as Mrs. McCall stepped up to Leah, looking over the options.

"Is it for anything in particular?" Mrs. McCall asked. Leah looked at her, opening her mouth a little bit before closing it and making a face.

"Just daily wear." Leah shrugged as Mrs. McCall nodded.

"Here." She said, selecting a clear tube with some sort of light nude substance in it, "Just your basic lipgloss."

" _Gloss?"_ Leah asked, eyebrows raising as Mrs. McCall handed the tube out to her.

"Something to get you started." Mrs. McCall nodded at Leah as she took it.

"Okay, yeah, uhm, thanks, Mrs. McCall." Leah gave her a small smile, tapping the tube against her palm.

"Anytime, sweetheart." Mrs. McCall gave Leah another of her motherly smiles, "Have a good night. Stay safe." She said, reaching out for her.

"Yeah, you too." Leah nodded as Melissa patted her arm before walking past Leah. Leah stared at the lip gloss for a moment before taking in a breath. _Simple_.

Leah paid for the lip gloss— it was five dollars and Leah almost put it back before just sucking it up, and walked out of the drugstore, putting the lip gloss in her pocket and keeping her hand there. She skated the rest of the way back home, watching the moon rise and feeling a bit anxious about what it would bring.

Getting home, Leah set her lacrosse stuff outside before heading back into the house. She went up to her bedroom, checking her phone for any new texts. Realizing she was running a bit later than she intended, Leah quickly showered and redressed herself in a pair of leggings and a graphic tee crop top, grabbing a hoodie and slipping it over her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her wet hair, messing it up a bit before stepping up to her mirror. Leah turned the lip gloss in her fingers, chewing on her bottom lip as she debated what to do. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror before she unscrewed the cap. She swiped the wand over her lips, making a face at the feeling—it felt like she was putting glue on her mouth. It didn't make her look any different, but her lips were definitely shinier than they were previously.

Before Leah could back out, her phone buzzed on her desk, getting her attention. She reached for it, seeing Connor's name on the screen. Answering it, Leah shoved the phone under her ear and held it there with her shoulder.

"Hey." Leah said as she went around her room, grabbing various items and putting them in her backpack.

" _What are you doing?"_ Connor asked.

"Uh, I'm about to head out to Scott's." Leah explained, grabbing her taser and shoving it into her backpack before slinging it over her shoulder. "Full moon and all." She reminded him.

" _No, hey, no, you can't go to Scott's tonight."_ Connor sounded like he was shaking his head, _"It's too dangerous."_

"Oh so now you wanna play protective older brother?" Leah questioned, standing up a bit straighter and pulling her phone from her shoulder, "I think it's too late for that, bro."

" _At least tell me you have a plan."_ Connor said, ignoring her comment. Leah sighed and Connor took that as an answer, " _Leah…"_

"We have a plan." Leah shortly answered, "I think." She added on, glancing to Scott's window, seeing that the light was on.

" _I've dealt with this before, sis. There's a lot—you need to have a plan. Not just for Scott, but for you too."_ Connor explained, " _In case something goes wrong."_

"Nothing's going to go wrong." Leah shook her head. She heard Connor scoff and Leah rolled her eyes,

" _Really? How was he today? A little aggressive? Impulsive?"_ Connor asked, knowing the answers before he asked the questions. Leah took in a breath and wrapped an arm around her midsection,

"If you're such a know-it-all then how bout you, oh, I don't know, come help?" Leah asked, shrugging, even though Connor couldn't see it, "You said you came back to help, but you haven't done anything."

" _Uhm, yes, I have."_ Connor sounded offended, " _I've been trying to find Scott's Alpha before he finds Scott."_

"Great." Leah sighed out, "Glad that you have your priorities in order. Just know it's your fault if I get eaten by Scott tonight." Leah said before hanging up the phone. She rolled her eyes at her brother as she walked out of her bedroom.

For as much as Connor preached about being there to help, he had left Leah and the boys high and dry. They had to figure out a lot of stuff on their own after Derek disappeared and Leah felt a bit annoyed that Connor had disappeared just as Derek did; she needed her brother, especially when it came to dealing with Scott.

Leah hurried down the stairs and out the door. She hurried across the lawn that separated her and Scott's houses, taking the porch stairs two at a time and pushing into the McCall house.

Just as she went inside, Leah heard something clatter to the ground from upstairs and then Scott's yell. She walked to the bottom of the steps, looking up the staircase and hearing Stiles' voice,

"You kissed her, Scott, okay? You kissed Lydia!" Stiles was saying, "That's, Iike, the _one_ girl that I—And, you know, the past three hours, I've been thinking, _it's probably just the full moon_ , you know, _he doesn't even know what he's doing, and tomorrow, he'II be totally back to normal. He probably won't even remember what a complete dumbass he's been. A son of a bitch, a freaking unbelievable piece of crap friend!"_ Stiles finished with a shout. Leah chewed on the end of her hair as she crossed one arm over her stomach. There was a moment of silence before Leah heard Scott's voice,

"She kissed me."

"What?" Stiles asked back, but Leah knew he had heard Scott perfectly fine,

"I didn't kiss her. _She_ kissed me." Scott sounded different than normal—there was zero regret in his tone, almost like he was proud of what he had done, "She would have done a _lot_ more, too. You should have seen the way she had her hands all over me." Scott taunted Stiles as Leah quietly started to walk up the stairs, "She would have done anything I wanted." Leah swallowed as she got closer to the top of the stairs. Stiles stepped out of Scott's bedroom as Leah got to the top of the stairs.

"And we would've done a lot more if _Leah_ hadn't interrupted." Scott said, a bite to his voice as he said Leah's name. Leah froze on the stairs and took in a sharp breath, making Stiles' eyes flicked over to her.

"You knew? You saw?" Stiles asked, not accusing Leah, more like he was surprised at the fact that Leah knew. Leah didn't respond, not moving from her position on the stairs. She heard Scott laugh darkly and her eyes flicked over to Scott's bedroom door as she took in a breath,

"I—I—N—Yeah." Leah finally managed out. She clenched the railing, her knuckles turning white as she waited for Stiles' reaction.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stiles asked, swallowing back as he blinked rapidly at her. He felt a little confused; if anything, Leah would've taken great pleasure in telling him that his crush and Scott were making out—just so she could watch him fall apart.

"I…don't know." Leah quietly said with a small shrug. She felt her stomach worms begin to squirm around and Stiles looked at her for a moment before looking back at Scott's room and then back at Leah. His jaw clicked and he headed for the stairs—Leah pressed herself against the railing so he wouldn't touch her as he thumped down the stairs.

Leah took her top lip into her mouth, looking down at her feet. She swallowed, blinking rapidly before looking back up at the hallway. Slowly, she let go of the railing, feeling her fingers flex as they moved out of the uncomfortable position. Taking another step, Leah got to the second floor hall and peeked her head in to see Scott sitting on the floor, handcuffed to the radiator. He looked up at her, tilting his head at her and Leah licked her lips before stepping into the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest,

"Usually I'm the bitch." She stated, raising her eyebrows at Scott, "The asshole, the one ruining Stiles' life." She paused for a moment, "This isn't you, Scott."

"Let me go." Scott ignored her, not caring what she thought or what anyone else thought. He didn't care about the effects of his actions.

"No." Leah shook her head.

"Then why are you here?" Scott lowly said, "If you aren't going to _help me_." Leah opened her mouth to respond, but Scott cut her off, "Or are you here for _Stiles?"_ Scott bit out, "He isn't very happy with you, is he?" Leah rolled her eyes and let out a scoff,

"Oh my God, we are _not_ doing this right now—"

"You think I don't know?" Scott laughed darkly, "You like him, Leah. I know it. Your heart upticks every time you see him, that _disgusting_ smell rolls off of you. It makes me _sick_."

"Jealous?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. She wasn't going to let Scott get on her nerves. She wasn't going to give in to his tactics.

"You like him and it's _killing you_ that he doesn't like you back." Scott paused, tilting his head at Leah, "In fact, he'll never like you." Leah took in a deep breath, dropping her arms to her side, letting her backpack slip off of her shoulders and onto the ground. If Scott was going to continue with this attitude, Leah was already tired of it and needed to stop him.

"I heard his conversation with you last night, asking you about Lydia." Scott continued, "He'll never love you as much as he loves Lydia." Scott lowly said, laughing darkly. Leah felt her breath catch and she looked over at Scott, giving him the reaction he wanted,

"Scott, stop." Leah quietly said, "This isn't fair."

"It's true!" Scott shouted out, "He _hates you_." Leah ignored him, trying to remind herself that it was the full moon, as she dropped into a crouch, going into her backpack, "God, it's pathetic, watching you watch him, like you _actually_ have a chance." Scott scoffed. Leah swallowed, blinking rapidly as Scott continued to wail on such a sensitive topic for her. She pulled out what she was looking for as Scott taunted her, "You and I both know that it's always going to be Lydia, no matter how much _lipgloss_ you put on." Leah pushed out of her crouch and stood above Scott as he delivered his final blow, "Compared to Lydia, you're _nothing_."

Leah swallowed and raised the taser up, pulling the trigger and sending the bolts of electricity into Scott's body. He convulsed back, slumping over onto the radiator after a moment. Leah started to crank up the taser, stepping over to him and crouching in front of him.

"I _really_ fucking hate you right now." Leah quietly said, taking the bolts out of Scott's chest and licking her lips.

"What the hell did you do?" Stiles asked catching himself on the doorway. Leah looked over her shoulder and opened her mouth to explain—a part of her worried that Stiles had heard everything, but Stiles figured it out, not letting her answer him "Did you tase him?"

"He wouldn't shut up." Leah simply said, pushing out of her crouch. She went over to her backpack as Scott let out a low groan. She picked up her backpack and stuffed the taser inside, zipping up the pocket, "He's fine." Leah explained said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking past Stiles.

"You didn't have to tase him." Stiles glanced from Scott to Leah, "I'm sure whatever he said, it wasn't that bad." Leah shrugged and walked past him, not saying anything.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stiles asked, hand catching on Leah's arm as she walked past him. Leah glanced at him, feeling her stomach worms return as Stiles continued, "I thought we were gonna do this together." Leah glanced over at Scott, who was slumped against the radiator. She debated with herself with a moment; she wanted to be there for Scott, but she couldn't be with Stiles, alone, for such a long time. Leah swallowed and looked back at Stiles,

"I can't." Leah quietly said, shaking her head. She pulled her arm out of Stiles' grasp and started for the stairs,

"Wait, Leah, why?" Stiles asked, following after her, "What did he say to you?"

"It's not because of Scott." Leah shook her head, not turning back around as she headed for the stairs.

"Then what…?" Stiles paused, "Wait, is this because of what I said to you last night? Because I barely remember the night. Like it's all fuzzy and half of it seems like a dream—" Stiles started rambling as Leah started down the stairs, "But I have the texts and I'm sorry if I was annoying, but we both did some things we probably didn't want to do this weekend."

"What did I do, Stiles?" Leah asked, finally turning around. She was on a lower step than Stiles was, so she was looking up at him, eyebrows raised, "The kiss?" She asked, lowering her head, but still looking up at Stiles, "Do you think I'm leaving because of the kiss?" Leah asked, knowing full well that the kiss _was_ part of the reason she was leaving, but Stiles didn't need to know that.

"Well, yeah…" Stiles lifted his hand up before letting it scrub over his head, "I mean you kissed me!"

"I was drunk! Allison dared me! Trust me, I wouldn't have made that mistake sober." Leah laughed out, trying to play it off, "And you were drunk last night and made some mistakes!" Stiles rolled his eyes and Leah scoffed, "Calling me, for one, telling me you _missed me_." Leah made a face as she counted on her fingers, "Excessive texts—"

"Okay I get it!" Stiles cut her off, raising a hand.

"We were drunk, Stiles! It didn't mean anything! What we did or said or _texted_ —it doesn't change anything!" Leah raised her shoulders up, making her eyes wide as she tried to play off the past few days. Stiles took in a breath and glanced away from Leah for a moment,

"Then why are you leaving?" He asked, looking back at her. Leah took a breath in through her nose and then let it out,

"I'm not." Leah rubbed her hand over the side of her face, "I'm not." Leah repeated herself, heading back up the stairs. She walked past Stiles and went into the hallway, sliding down the wall and dropping her backpack by her as she sat down on the floor. Stiles followed suit, extending his legs as Leah pulled her knees up to her chest. She eyed him for a moment before looking down at her fingers,

"Can we just agree," Leah started after a moment, looking up at him, "to not drink anymore?"

"Yes, yeah, a hundred percent." Stiles bobbed his head in agreement, "Just leads to—"

"Mistakes." Leah finished for him. Stiles licked his lips and nodded, looking to the side.

The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes, and occasionally they heard Scott jiggling at the handcuffs, trying to get out.

"So we just wait it out?" Leah asked, changing the subject.

"Better than last time." Stiles answered, tapping his fingers against his leg. "Where we drove around the woods all night."

"A lot warmer than your piece of crap Jeep." Leah commented, looking around the hallway, "And roomier."

"Alright, stop bashing the Jeep." Stiles held up his hand. Leah couldn't help but smile as she looked back at him,

"Just saying." She said, shrugging and rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Stiles tried to hide his smile, ducking his head and looking down at his hands,

"Uh, I'm sorry." Stiles said after a moment, "About last night. I saw the texts this morning and I, ah," Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles as he looked up at her, "guess I'm a bit of a lightweight."

"You and me both, pal." Leah sighed, extending her legs out, "I'm sorry I kissed you." Stiles pulled the corners of his mouth down and raised his hands up,

"Just don't do it again." Stiles said, glancing at her.

"Oh, trust me, I won't." Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Twice is more than enough for me, thank you."

"Good." Stiles nodded, licking his lips as Leah swallowed. She caught herself glancing at Stiles' mouth and quickly realized she needed a distraction.

Pulling her backpack onto her lap, Leah unzipped the first section, pulling out a pack of Twizzlers and setting them next to her before she flipped her bag over, dumping out its contents. Things came spilling out: highlighters, pencils, her notebooks and planner and other various items.

"What's this?" Stiles asked, sounding like he was smiling. Leah looked over at him, seeing that he was holding the tube of lipgloss she had bought earlier in the day. Leah completely forgot that she threw it in her backpack. Stiles met her look, an amused smile on his face,

"Is this what's on your face?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Maybe." Leah mumbled.

"Thought it was just pizza grease or something." Stiles laughed lightly as Leah reached for the lipgloss. Stiles pulled his hand back, studying the brand, "Woah, _peaches_." Stiles made a face, "Interesting."

"Stop." Leah groaned, reaching out for the lipgloss as she rolled her eyes. She snatched the tube from Stiles' fingers and stuffed it back in her bag.

"Finally embracing your inner Barbie?" Stiles teased. Leah glared at him as Stiles smirked at her

"Shut up." Leah responded as Stiles reached for the pack of Twizzlers. Leah started putting some things back into her bag, realizing that Stiles had noticed the lipgloss, even if he just thought it was pizza grease. He noticed the small change and Leah couldn't help but smile at that small fact.

"So, what are you going to do about Lydia and Scott?" Leah asked after a while. The two of them had managed to talk around the subject of Scott and Lydia—talking about lacrosse, how they were both on first line, or their shared classes, but topics were running dry and Leah figured she might as well bring it up. Stiles raised his eyebrows up, Twizzler sticking out of his mouth,

"Probably nothing." Stiles sighed, sitting back against the wall, "I mean, it sucks _a lot_ but…" Stiles shrugged as if that was enough of an explanation.

"Yeah, well, just remember Scott's not the only one to blame. Lydia was just as willing and didn't do anything to stop it."

"Oh, I'm well aware, thank you." Stiles said as he snapped a Twizzler between his teeth. Leah licked her lips and reached for the Twizzler pack, taking out a couple for herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it." Leah said after a moment. Stiles raised his eyebrows at her and Leah let out a sigh, "I mean, I don't know _why_ I didn't tell you." Leah continued, sticking a Twizzler into her mouth, "Usually, I'd be all for destroying you emotionally with that piece of gossip."

"Oh, I know." Stiles scoffed. Leah rolled her eyes. There a small moment of silence as Stiles watched Leah chew on her Twizzler. He noticed there was a handmade bracelet with a complicated pattern on her wrist, "Where'd you get the bracelet?" Stiles asked, motioning to Leah's wrist.

"Oh, I ran into Heather O'Connell over the weekend." Leah shrugged, "We had, like, a mini reunion and she gave me this as a birthday gift along with some camp stuff." Leah shook her wrist in the air, showing off the bracelet. Stiles raised his eyebrows at Leah and nodded,

"Cool, cool." Stiles paused, "I keep forgetting that we were all friends once." He laughed to himself, "God, it feels like a lifetime ago." Stiles rested his head against the wall, "When everything was so _normal_."

"You mean sitting in a hallway as our best friend shifts into a werewolf, _isn't_ normal?" Leah joked, brow furrowing. Stiles laughed a little and shook his head,

"Definitely not." He responded, getting Leah to give him an amused smile.

Suddenly, the two of them heard Scott's pained voice call out, "Leah? Stiles?" Scott paused, both Leah and Stiles looking to the closed door, "Please let me out. It's the full moon, I swear. You know I wouldn't do any of this on purpose. Please, guys, let me out." Leah swallowed, trying not to react to the pain in Scott's voice. It seemed that whatever Scott they had been dealing with earlier in the night had been replaced by the normal Scott they knew.

"It's starting to hurt." Scott continued, "It's not like the first time. It's the full moon. It's Allison breaking up with me. I know—That it's not just taking a break." Leah tied her Twizzler in a knot, trying to tune Scott out, "She broke up with me. And it's _killing_ me." Leah looked over to Stiles to see him rub a hand over his mouth,

"I feel completely hopeless. Just, _please_ , let me out." Scott begged. Stiles scrubbed his hands over his head, trying to not give in. Leah took in a breath, trying to resist the urge to go in there and let Scott out. Even with all the horrible things Scott said to her, Leah knew that deep down he didn't mean any of it. Scott was her best friend, so it was hard not to want to forgive him and let him out.

"We can't." Stiles softly responded.

"No, no, no!" Scott started yelling out, jangling against the radiator. There was a low roar before complete and utter silence. Leah looked at Stiles, eyebrows raising.

"Scott?" Leah called out as Stiles got to his feet. She slid up the wall as Stiles slowly opened the door. He peeked his head in, calling out for Scott as Leah walked behind him. Stiles opened the door fully and Leah felt her stomach drop at the empty space where Scott once was, handcuff broken and blood on the floor.

"Shit." Leah whispered out.

Stiles pushed by her, running out into the hall. It took Leah a moment, but soon she caught up with what it meant—Scott was missing, Scott was outside on a full moon, controlled by the urge to maim and kill someone. Leah took a few quick steps back before turning and running out of Scott's room. She grabbed her bag as she went, slinging it over her shoulder before running down the steps after Stiles. Leah got into his Jeep and he started up the car as soon as the door was shut.

"Where are we going?" Leah asked as Stiles asked her, "Where did Scott go?"

"Like I have a clue!" Leah cried out, "He just jumped out the window!" Stiles let out a groan, "This is _not_ my fault, Stiles." She seriously said, pointing at him.

"I'm not saying it's your fault!" Stiles waved his hand around, "It's neither of our faults! We just need to find him."

"So we're driving around the woods for the rest of the night." Leah stated, falling back into her seat.

"Do you have a better plan?" Stiles asked.

"No." Leah sighed out, arms crossing over her chest. Stiles nodded and started for the Preserve.

For a few minutes, Stiles drove in silence until Leah spotted the familiar lights of squad cars, "Stiles…" Leah said, getting his attention. Stiles slowed the Jeep down as they got closer to the scene. There were deputies milling around, talking to each other as a body was rolled out onto a gurney.

"I wonder what happened." Leah mumbled out as Stiles stopped the Jeep.

"I don't see my dad." He said before pushing out of the Jeep. Leah got out after him, looking for her mom. She walked up to some of the other deputies, looking to see if any of them were her mom. Soon, she began to start to panic at the thought that her mom was the on the gurney,

"Mom?" Leah called out, looking away from the gurney and turning around. "Has anyone seen my mom?" She asked, going up to one of the other deputies. He wasn't paying attention to her, writing something down on his pad of paper.

"Mom?" Leah moved past the deputy, searching the crowd. Her stomach began to knot up as she feared that her mom was the dead body—that Scott had killed her mom.

"Leah?" Leah heard her mom's voice say. Leah whirled around to see Tara giving her a confused look. She stepping up to Leah, one hand on her stomach, the other on her hip, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh thank God." Leah sighed out, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. Leah stepped up to her mom and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. Leah pressed her face into her shoulder for a moment before looking over and seeing that Stiles was hugging his dad. Releasing her mom Leah stepped back as Tara gave Leah a look.

"What are you doing here?" She asked her, hands on her hips.

"Uh…" Leah tried to come up with an excuse, but the sheriff cut her off by coming up to Tara and Leah, Stiles standing next to him.

"Stiles was just telling me that he was taking Leah to the sports store." The sheriff said, looking doubtful. Tara raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips as she looked to Leah. Leah made a face and nodded, going along with the lie.

"Yeah, uh, I wanted to check out their new stuff. Since I'm back on first line and all." Tara's eyes went wide and she reached out for Leah,

"You're back on first line?"

"Stiles and me both are." Leah said, jerking her head to Stiles. Tara's face broke out into a wide smile,

"That's fantastic!" Tara cheered, throwing her arms around Leah again.

"Proud of you." Leah heard the sheriff say to Stiles and then heard what sounded like a pat on a shoulder.

"Yeah." Stiles laughed out, "Then we saw the lights and decided to stop…" He trailed off.

"What happened?" Leah asked as Tara let her go. Tara and the sheriff shared a look before Tara answered Leah,

"Two burnt up bodies found in the rock park." Tara answered, arms crossing back over her chest.

"A couple of college kids found 'em." The sheriff added on, "Popular place for drinking." Stiles and Leah made matching faces, nodding as if they had no idea that the rock park was a place for drinking.

"Do we know who they are?" Stiles asked.

"They were burnt to a crisp, Stiles." Leah said, rolling her eyes, "Highly doubtful."

"Leah's right." The sheriff sighed out, nodding at Leah, "We'll get more on them once we get to the hospital."

"And you'll tell us…? Leah trailed off, face hopeful. Tara and the sheriff gave Leah an unamused look.

"Nice try."

"We've told you two enough as it is." Tara added on. The sheriff and her were well aware of how curious Stiles and Leah were when it came to their police work. They had grown up in the station, coloring while surrounded by police work, getting to know some of the regular offenders by name and spending time playing cops and robbers—locking each other up in the holding cells. As they grew up, nothing changed—the pair just tried to get more involved and tried to weasel information out of the sheriff and Tara, almost as if they were trying to solve the cases before them.

"Well, we should get going. The, uh, sports store closes in an hour." Leah said, getting Stiles to go along with the lie.

"Uh, yeah, we're gonna head out." Stiles ran a hand over his head, "See you at home." He said to his father. Leah hugged her mom again, happy that she was okay.

As the two teens reunited with their parents, they were unaware that a car was across the way, both passengers watching them intently,

"That one's Stiles?" Chris Argent asked his sister, nodding to the teenager.

"Another friend of AIIison's." Kate confirmed Chris' question. Chris looked to Kate,

"Are you gonna tell me about that talk you had with her?"

"You tell me something first." Kate prompted, "That night you came across those two betas, one of them was smaller, right?" Chris hummed in response, "Well, was he just smaller? Or could he have been younger, too?"

"What are you saying?" Chris asked, looking back at the scene,

"Maybe it's not a _he_ at all." Kate raised her eyebrows as she continued to watch Leah. Chris raised his eyebrows, waiting for Kate to explain, "Think about it." Kate looked to Chris, "Her brother is _best friends_ with Derek Hale. And he comes back into town a few weeks after Laura was killed? What if it was because he needed to take care of his sister…"

"You think a new beta could be out on a full moon, completely fine?" Chris asked, looking at Leah.

"Maybe Derek and Connor tag teamed her and helped her find an anchor because they knew we were in town." Kate suggested, "Listen, I don't know, but I do know that Connor was _very_ defensive when I asked about his sister and what she knew about the werewolves…almost like he knew something that he didn't want me to know…" Kate trailed off as the two Argents stared at Leah and Stiles, watching them walk off, "What if _she's_ the second beta?" Kate asked.

* * *

"Scott didn't kill them." Leah said, breathing out a sigh of relief as she got into the Jeep.

"Yeah, but someone did." Stiles responded, tapping his hand on the wheel. "And I bet they're the guys we saw last night." Stiles continued.

"The guys who almost jumped you?" Leah asked, getting a nod from Stiles. "I wonder why they were killed." She continued, "And who killed them." She added on, brow furrowing.

"Maybe the Alpha did." Stiles turned down a street. Leah shook her head, not buying it.

"Yeah, but, that didn't look very _werewolfy_ to you, right?"

"Maybe he wanted to be creative." Stiles shrugged. Leah made a disgusted face.

"Ugh, by burning them alive?" She asked back. Stiles shrugged again. Leah felt her phone buzz in her hoodie pocket so she pulled her phone out, seeing that Scott's name was displayed.

"Scott?" Leah quickly answered. Stiles slammed on the brakes and Leah had to brace herself on the dash so she didn't fly through the windshield,

 _"Hey."_ Scott softly answered Leah.

"Scott, where are you? Are you okay?"

 _"Yeah, yeah. I'm home."_ Scott coughed, sounding tired, _"Where are you guys?"_

"Out looking for you, dumbass!" Leah all about yelled into the phone. "Stiles, he's at his house." She said to Stiles, who started to drive again, turning around and heading to Scott's, "Scott, we're on our way. Just stay put, okay?"

 _"Okay."_ Scott tiredly said before hanging up.

Leah let out a sigh of relief and felt herself relaxing; Scott was human again. Part of her was anxious to hear what happened—fearing that he had done something stupid, but a bigger part of her was just glad he was okay.

Stiles pulled up in front of the McCall's house and Leah noticed that Scott's bedroom light was on. Pushing out of the Jeep, Leah headed up the front steps to the porch, letting Stiles unlock the door with a key that he somehow had—Leah didn't comment. She followed Stiles inside the house, looking in the living room and dining room to see that both were empty. Stiles went for the stairs and Leah was right behind him.

"Scott?" Stiles asked out as they walked down the hall to Scott's room.

"In here." Scott called back. Leah pushed past Stiles and went into Scott's room first, seeing her best friend sitting on his bed.

"Thank God." Leah whispered before going over to him and hugging him tight. Scott paused for a split second before he hugged Leah back.

"Dude, what happened?" Stiles asked as Leah let go of Scott. She stepped back, hand on her bag as Scott looked at them before taking in a breath.

"I shifted and basically _stalked_ Allison." Scott admitted, "She was the sports store with Jackson and I was seeing all of these scenes that weren't really happening. Like them making out and—I tried to attack them." He paused, waiting for their reactions.

"Well, are they okay?" Leah asked, raising a hand and then letting it drop. Scott nodded before continuing,

"Derek came out of nowhere and—"

 _"Derek?"_ Leah cut Scott off. Scott nodded at her and Leah let out a disbelieving laugh, "Derek's alive." She said, rolling forward on her toes.

"Oh my God." Stiles groaned out, not pleased that Derek was still kicking it.

"He said that I was doing exactly what the Alpha wanted." Scott explained.

"Killing us off." Leah clarified, getting a nod from Scott, "But you didn't kill anyone!" She raised a hand to Scott, "Right?" Leah asked, second guessing herself.

"I didn't kill anyone, Leah." Scott softly said, "But I asked Derek about a cure."

 _"What!?"_ Stiles and Leah both shouted out.

"Yeah…" Scott heaved a sigh, "Apparently…I have to kill the one who bit me."

"Oh Jesus." Leah groaned out as Stiles rolled his head back.

"You mean the psychotic werewolf who trapped us all in the school and killed six other people!?" Stiles burst out.

"Six?" Scott's brow furrowed, "Who else…?"

"'Member the two guys from the woods last night?" Stiles asked. Scott nodded, "Tara and my dad found their bodies in the rock park, burnt to a crisp." Scott raised his eyebrows in disbelief,

"Seriously?"

"We think it was the Alpha." Leah explained, "Well, Stiles does." Leah backtracked, "Who we apparently need to find now so you can kill him and be cured." Leah realized, brow furrowing.

"Will you help me?" Scott asked, looking up at his friends. Leah took in a breath and glanced at Stiles, trying to gauge his reaction, before looking back at Scott. Leah wanted Scott to be happy and if that meant tracking down a murderous Alpha so that Scott could be cured, then she would help.

"Derek said he would help me kill him." Scott added on, as if that would be a selling point. Leah scratched her head and let out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll help you." Leah agreed.

"Yeah, same." Stiles nodded. Scott gave them a small smile.

"Thanks, guys." There was a pause and Scott looked up at Stiles, "I'm really sorry, man. About Lydia." Stiles took in a breath, hands on his hips, "I—I don't know what happened."

"The full moon is what happened." Stiles said as if it were obvious, eyebrows raised. Scott looked guilty and Stiles obviously noticed. He shared a look with Leah before letting out a sigh, dropping his hands, "I mean, yeah, you did a shitty thing, dude, but…I forgive you." Stiles finished,

"Seriously? That easy?" Scott raised his eyebrows at his friends, not used to Stiles forgiving him so quickly,

"Yeah…" Stiles paused, "We all do stupid things when we're under the influence." He quickly glanced to Leah, who didn't notice, "Your influence just happens to be the full moon." Stiles motioned to Scott. Scott gave him a small smile, "It's fine." Stiles made a face,

"I feel really bad about it." Scott raised his eyebrows, "Like _really bad_."

"Yeah? Good." Stiles nodded, stepping over and patting Scott's shoulder, "You continue to feel guilty and we'll, uh, talk in the morning, okay?" Stiles asked, getting a nod from Scott. Stiles turned and looked at Leah, "Cool if I just go?" He asked.

"Yeah, totally." Leah said, nodding slightly. Stiles nodded back at Leah and walked past her brushing his shoulder against Leah. Leah felt her stomach worms start squirming and she took in a breath, waiting until she heard Stiles' footsteps on the stairs before she let it out.

Leah shook her head and let out a sigh as she settled down next to Scott on his bed, "Glad you're okay." She said, giving Scott a small smile. Scott gave her an apologetic look,

"Listen, the stuff I said to you, what I did—I'm sorry." Scott turned his apologies onto Leah. Leah swallowed and gave him a small smile,

"Full moon free pass." Leah softly said, "It's okay." She paused for a moment before glancing at Scott, "I'm sorry I tased you." Leah apologized.

"I kinda deserved it." Scott said, looking back up at Leah with a slight smile. Leah returned the smile and shook her head, "Full moon free pass." Scott added. Leah nodded and looked away from Scott, playing with her fingers, "You really like him don't you?" Scott asked after a moment,

"I don't know _why._ " Leah tilted her head back and she took in a breath, "But it's pretty obvious that he doesn't feel the same." She looked back at Scott and gave a shrug,

"What are you gonna do?" Scott asked her, raising his eyebrows,

"Hopelessly pine over him until he falls in love with me, _duh_." Leah joked, getting a small smile from Scott. She sighed and looked down at her lap, "Probably just try and act like nothing's changed and just shove this feeling down until it just goes away." Leah seriously said.

"For the record," Scott started after a moment, "You don't smell desperate, you _aren't_ desperate." Leah looked over to him, "And…it's a nice smell." She raised her eyebrows at him, "Kinda like peaches." Leah tried not to smile, but failed,

"Stop smelling me." Leah joked, nudging Scott with her shoulder. Scott let out a light laugh and nudged her back. The two of them exchanged amused smiles before Leah patted Scott's knee. Scott shook his head at her before getting to his feet with an exaggerated sigh,

"I'm gonna shower." Scott motioned to the door, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. Leah nodded and glanced at the clock, seeing how late it was,

"Do you want some food?" Leah asked, looking back at Scott, "Werewolfness has got to take a lot out of you." She joked, getting Scott to give her a small smile. He nodded in response,

"I don't know what we have but—"

"Don't worry, I can figure something out." Leah cut him off with an amused smile, "Go. Shower." She waved her hands at Scott as she got to her feet. "I'll bring it up here."

"Thanks." Scott nodded at her, turning to go into his bathroom before turning back after a moment, "And thanks…for staying tonight."

"Always." Leah nodded, rolling her lips in nodding. They exchanged small smiles before Leah walked out of his room, jogging down the stairs and into the kitchen. She started rummaging through the McCall's fridge and cabinets, searching for something she could make Scott. Her phone buzzed as she went and she answered Connor's call with a simple,

"Not dead."

" _Well that's good to hear."_ Connor responded as Leah grabbed the stool so she could reach the top shelf of the cabinet, " _How's Scott?"_

"He's fine. I'm making him food now." Leah nodded, "Derek got him to shift back." She nonchalantly said, "Brought him home too, I guess."

" _Yeah I know."_ Connor said, making Leah pause,

"Wait, did you know he was alive this whole time?" Leah asked, standing on the stool as she tilted her head closer to her phone.

" _Uh, yeah, yep. We've been looking for the Alpha for the past few days._ "

"Wooooooow." Leah drew out the word, "Wow, Connor." She was offended and Connor took note,

" _Yeah, I know, I should've told you, I know."_ Connor responded. " _It was just easier to lie. God, I hate that this is what's become of us."_ Leah let out a sigh as she raised her shoulder up, pressing her phone against her ear so she could have both hands free.

"Just…no more secrets, okay?" Leah asked.

" _Yeah for sure."_ Connor agreed, " _I'll be home soon, I swear, and then we can talk about everything."_

"Sounds good." Leah said as she finished up what she was making for Scott, "Okay, I'll see you later." Leah said, bidding her brother goodbye before hanging up.

Shoving her phone into her pocket, Leah retrieved what she had stuck in the microwave before Connor called, pouring it over the dish. She carefully grabbed the plate and a few napkins before heading back up to Scott's room.

"Nachos a la Sceah." Leah presented her dish as she walked into Scott's room. He pulled his shirt over his head and glanced over at her, an amused smile on his face.

"You mean the shit we used to make when we were kids?"

"All Mexican based condiments and food piled onto some tortilla chips, yes." Leah gave him a wry grin as she settled onto the floor in front of Scott's bed. Scott sat down across from her, taking a loaded chip and shoving it into his mouth. He made a face, forgetting how it kinda tasted good as Leah's phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Pulling out her phone, she saw Stiles' name on the screen and she slid her thumb against the screen with one hand, the other picking up a chip. Her phone opened up to the message thread from the previous night, letting Leah see the drunk texts Stiles had sent her. She went through and deleted all of the individual texts before she landed on the one she didn't read all the way through: _i miss you wish you were here with us i did like that u kissed me._

Scott watched Leah read a text, noticing how her heart picked up a bit and she took in a deep breath before shaking her head and swiping her thumb across the screen. Leah met Scott's gaze and gave him a small smile, setting her phone by her—not bothering to read Stiles' latest text.

"Listen, these are much worse than I remember." Leah said as she used a chip to scoop up more of the dip. Scott paused for half a second before laughing lightly at Leah's statement; if she wanted to pretend nothing changed, then he would happily go along with it until she figured herself out.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	22. Rip Off the Band-Aid

The hum of the microwave was the only noise in the kitchen as Leah's mac and cheese heated up. She was leaning against the counter, leafing through the newspaper as she waited for her food to be done. She was home alone; both of her parents were at work—Tara and the sheriff were out trailing Derek while Drew was at the hospital. Connor had yet to reappear, but Leah was sure he would show up sooner or later.

Suddenly, the front door noisily opened, slamming against the radiator in the front hall. Leah's head snapped up and she heard some scuffling as multiple persons came through the door. Grabbing her fork, Leah carefully went to go investigate. She jumped out from around the corner, brandishing her fork in both hands and making those who just came into her house jump in surprise,

"Oh! My God." Stiles breathed out, hand going to his chest as he reacted to Leah's jump scare. Leah's brow instantly furrowed and her eyes went wide as she took in who was in her house. Connor and Derek both gave her unamused looks and then Scott stepped into the house, closing the door behind him and locking it before looking at Leah.

"Uhm…hi?" Leah asked out, obviously confused at the situation. "What the fuck?" She looked at each of the boys, waiting for them to explain.

"They didn't follow us." Connor said as he stepped back from the window.

"Who?" Leah asked as the boys walked past her and into the living room. "Who was following you?"

"The cops." Connor said, turning to look at his sister. Leah's brow furrowed as she lowered the fork. Connor stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her figure, getting Leah to hug him back. "Come on, I'll explain." Connor said after a moment's hug. Leah stepped back and followed him into the living room.

Leah sat on the arm rest of the couch next to Scott—Stiles had spread himself out on the other half of the couch, Connor settled into the loveseat while Derek stayed standing. To anyone looking in, it looked like an odd group; three teenagers and two late twenties males and even to Leah it was odd, but it seemed that odd was becoming her new normal.

"We found a lead on the Alpha." Connor started to explain, "But then when Derek tried to get close—the cops showed up."

"We've been racing through town all night trying to lead the cops and then the _Argents_ away from Derek." Stiles added on with a sigh. Leah glanced at the group, brows furrowing.

"Why wasn't I invited on this field trip?" Leah asked, looking down at Scott. Scott raised his eyebrows at her,

"You were." Scott reminded her, "I texted you." Leah raised her eyebrows and made a face, not remembering the text.

"Really coulda used you and your _Need for Speed_ driving skills. Scott can't drive stick for shit." Stiles commented, throwing an arm out. Derek made a noise as he remembered how badly Scott grinded the gears together on his Camaro. Leah rolled her eyes and got back to the task,

"So did you figure out who it was?" Leah asked, referring to the Alpha.

"No." Derek grumbled, "The cops showed up before we could do anything." Derek sighed and looked to Connor.

"How'd you figure out where he'd be?" Leah continued, looking to her brother. Connor looked to Derek who took in a breath,

"Laura left me two things to lead me to who set the fire." Derek explained.

"One of them was Harris." Stiles butted in. Leah felt her jaw drop as she looked over to Stiles,

"Our Chemistry teacher?" Leah gasped out, "No _way_."

"And the other—"

"Was Allison's necklace." Scott interjected.

"With the little wolf on it? And the star?" Leah asked, motioning to her chest area where she knew Allison's pendant usually laid.

"Right." Scott nodded. Leah made a face, settling her chin on her hand. Derek and Connor exchanged a glance, already knowing who set the fire. If anything, both of them figured whoever was the Alpha had to be going after those who knew about the Hale fire, which was why they knew the Alpha would be looking for Harris. They had just managed to time it perfectly.

"Well, that's not good." Leah tapped her fork against her teeth as the group fell into a silence. "So where's Derek gonna stay?" Leah asked after a moment, getting everyone's attention, "I mean, he's still _technically_ wanted for murder." Leah clenched her teeth together and made a face as Derek gave her an unamused look.

"He's gonna stay here tonight." Connor explained, arms crossed, "The basement's furnished and Mom and Dad aren't gonna be back until morning." Leah nodded and looked back at Scott and Stiles,

"And I guess we have to figure out how to get the necklace." Leah prompted, getting a nod from Scott. She sighed as the microwave dinged, making the group jump a little in surprise. Leah swung her legs off of the arm of the couch and headed into the kitchen—the group of guys dissolving into small talk.

Taking her mac and cheese out of the microwave, Leah turned to see Scott walking into the kitchen. She raised her eyebrows at him as she put her fork into the bowl, stirring the mac and cheese around. Scott shoved his hands into his pockets and walked up to the other side of the island, settling down on the stool.

"Fun adventure night?" Leah asked as she walked back to the island. Scott gave her an amused smile as Leah planted her elbows against the island,

"Ah, Stiles just left and I guess Connor is getting Derek set up downstairs…" Scott trailed off, brow furrowing, "It's weird that they're friends."

"Oh, yeah, super weird." Leah nodded in agreement.

"Guess history does repeat itself." Scott sighed and Leah raised her eyebrows at him. She offered him some of her mac and cheese, which Scott shook his head at, "I should get going. Have to figure out some way to get that necklace from Allison." Scott took in a breath as he got off the stool.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Leah said as she stabbed at her mac and cheese, "I'll see ya later." She bid Scott goodbye as he headed for the kitchen door, walking out the back way.

Leah had a few minutes of peace before Connor came back into the kitchen. He took Leah's mac and cheese from her hands, ignoring her horrified gasp as he shoveled a forkful of it into his mouth and the passed it back. Leah glared at him as she walked around the island, watching as he opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"So…" Connor started, turning back to Leah,

"All set up for your sleepover?" Leah asked, smirking at her brother. Connor rolled his eyes as he stepped up to the island, cracking open his water bottle.

"Oh, yeah we're gonna play truth or dare, talk about our crushes…" Connor joked, making his eyes wide as Leah gave him an amused smile.

"Really? Derek can emote more than frustration and general broodiness?" Leah made a face as she settled onto one of the stools.

"Surprisingly yes." Connor raised his eyebrows up and pulled the corners of his mouth down, "It's the leather jacket, it makes him seem more badass and grumpy than he actually is." Leah snorted as she took another bite of her mac and cheese,

"Are you gonna tell me how you two became friends?" Leah asked around a mouthful of mac and cheese, "You don't seem like the type to be friendly with the resident werewolf."

"Trust me, I didn't know he was a werewolf when I met him." Connor shook his head as he took a sip from his water bottle, "I found out a few weeks before Deucalion came to town."

" _Deucalion_." Leah repeated her brother, lowering her voice, "Sounds like a video game character." Connor rolled his eyes at her, "Do Mom and Dad know that there are werewolves running around?" Leah asked after a moment.

"Oh God no, can you imagine?" Connor scoffed, "They'd never let you leave the house. Especially if they knew what happened to you." Leah's brow furrowed at Connor and he noticed. There was a small pause as Connor flipped the water bottle cap in between his fingers before taking in a breath, "I, uhm, I wasn't there when it happened." Connor started, glancing up at his sister, "Derek and I were at school and Laura was babysitting you and Derek's younger sister, Cora." Leah's ears perked up at the sound of Cora's name. Finally, it seemed like Leah was going to get some answers and it seemed like whatever had happened to her had something to do with Cora and Laura.

"I just remember Peter, Derek's uncle, do you remember him?" Connor asked. Leah shook her head,

"I mean, Derek took me to visit him, but I don't remember anything else about him." Connor nodded,

"Right." He took in a breath before continuing, "Well, he called Derek and said something about there being an accident." His brows furrowed as he remembered the day, "We got to the animal clinic at the same time as you and everyone else." Connor blinked, looking past Leah, almost like he was looking into the past. He tried to erase the day from his mind, even asking Talia for help, but she reminded him that someone needed to protect Leah if the Hales couldn't.

"Why the animal clinic?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Connor looked back at her and gave her a small smile,

"Because Dad would've killed me and everyone else if he saw what happened." Leah raised her eyebrows and took in a breath, "You were attacked." Connor blinked furiously, pressing his palms flat against the island, "You were bleeding from your wrists, your side…you were so tiny and just bleeding everywhere." Leah glanced down at her wrists, noticing the marks against her skin.

"Why don't I remember it?" Leah softly asked, looking back at her brother as she rubbed her thumb against the marks on her wrists, "Why don't I remember being attacked or the Hales or—or really anything about werewolves?" Leah raised her shoulders up.

"Because we thought it was for the best." Leah turned at the sound of Derek's voice. He looked at Leah for a quick moment before making eye contact with Connor. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked in between the men.

"What is that supposed to mean? What the fuck did you do to me?" She asked, voice serious as she tried to control her emotions. Half of her was angry at her brother and Derek while the other half was scared of what had happened to her.

Derek walked around to where Connor was standing and Leah followed him with her eyes, not wanting to miss a second of the explanation. She watched as Derek leaned against the counter, looking rather casual, almost like he fit in with the set up. Connor took in a breath and raised his eyebrows.

"They took away your memories." Connor simply explained. He said it casually, almost like he wasn't ripping off a giant band-aid. Leah didn't know how to react or what the appropriate reaction even was for a moment like this.

"Wh—they—H—How?" Leah sputtered out, making a face. Derek and Connor exchanged a glance before Derek took in a breath,

"Sometimes werewolves have the power to access memories. They can take them away or give them back to people." Derek explained in simple terms. Leah couldn't help but let her jaw drop and blink at Derek.

"What the fuck?" Leah whispered out. There was a pause as Connor and Derek let Leah wrap her head around the situation, "So…you're telling me that a _werewolf_ _took away_ my memories." Connor and Derek nodded in unison, "Oh my God." Leah whispered out, looking away from the pair.

"So all of those weird flashbacks you were having are completely understandable." Connor continued, raising a hand to Leah, "You were in similar situations that you were in when you were a kid and your subconscious was just trying to get the memories back." Leah nodded slowly, remembering the topic discussed in her psychology class,

"Repetition compulsion." Leah softly said, "But I didn't go out of my way to get attacked by werewolves." Leah continued, looking back at Connor, "I didn't want to be involved with any of this!" Leah waved her hand around.

"I know." Connor nodded, "And I tried to get you—"

"Oh my God!" Leah cut him off, getting off of the stool, "Do not try to make me feel guilty right now, Con!" Leah paused for a moment, "You've been lying to me for my entire life!" Leah made her eyes wide, "There's a whole part of my _fucking_ childhood missing and I don't know who has it! Do you?"

"…No." Connor quietly said. Leah let out a frustrated groan and went to walk away only to have Connor stop her, "Leah," Leah turned to look at the men in her kitchen, "Your memories were taken at such a young age, so your brain wasn't fully developed, it isn't now, but it was a serious risk to mess with your brain." Connor paused, "You need to tell us if anything's happening." Leah stared at him, "If you're forgetting anything." Connor clarified. Leah looked at Derek and then back at Connor, well aware that Derek was probably monitoring her like a lie detector.

"I'll tell you." Leah simply said, trying to keep her pulse in check. "But I'm _really_ upset with you, both of you, right now." Leah looked in between Derek and Connor, "So I suggest you leave me alone." Leah raised her eyebrows at the pair, daring them to challenge her. When it became clear that they got the message, Leah turned on her toe and stomped away from them and up to her room.

Back in her room, Leah paused for a second, trying to wrap her head around what she was just told. Everything was slowly coming together and started to make sense-or at least better sense than it had before; the random memories that felt like dreams, when Scott attacked her on his first full moon and she felt the sense of deja vu—in fact any time she was involved with a werewolf attack it felt like deja vu.

Leah stepped forward, pushing her hands through her hair as she began to lightly pace. She tried to think back to when she was younger, tried to think of the names of the Hale family and put them with faces, but there was nothing—nothing but darkness. The anger at her brother was slowly replaced by the feelings of frustration and helplessness. Leah took in a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, not even knowing how to deal with what she had been told. Connor may have ripped off the band-aid, but there was still another layer covering the whole truth, the entire wound.

* * *

The next morning, as Tara opened the front door, she heard thumping on the stairs, signaling that Leah was coming down. She glanced up to see Leah rubbing at her face looking like she had barely gotten any sleep. Leah let out a yawn as she stepped off of the stairs, giving her mom a lazy smile.

"Everything okay?" Tara asked, brows furrowing. Leah nodded and waved her hand around in the air,

"Just didn't get my full eight hours." Leah tried to make a joke as she went over to where her backpack was set against the back of the couch.

"Maybe take a nap after school so you're well rested for the big game tonight." Tara suggested. Leah nodded in response and as she reached for her backpack, she noticed a piece of paper on the coffee table. Tara watched Leah go around the couch and snatch the piece of paper off of the table, perking up as she saw what was on it.

"What's that?" Tara asked.

"Nothing!" Leah answered, shoving the paper into her pocket. She turned to look at her mom, eyebrows raised, "So you still haven't got Derek, huh?"

"Nope." Tara sighed, unzipping her jacket, "We managed to track him to the school, but he vanished before anything happened. Your Chemistry teacher was there." Tara added on.

"Oh? Is he okay?" Leah asked, not really caring if Harris was okay or not. If she was honest, she had forgotten that Harris had even been involved with the events of the previous night.

"We have him on twenty-four hour protective watch." Tara nodded, "It's just so weird, I mean, Derek Hale?" Tara's features scrunched up, "He used to be best friends with Connor. He was always so…"

"Not murderous?" Leah finished for her mom as she swung her backpack over her shoulder. Tara nodded thoughtfully, "People change, Mom." Leah shrugged as she walked past her mom, "Love ya. Be safe." She said, kissing her mom's cheek before she walked out of the house.

Leah realized Harris must've known something if he was put on a protective watch. Or maybe the sheriff's department was just paranoid, which was reasonable. Leah couldn't help but try and come up with a reason as to why Harris would be involved with any of the supernatural occurrences going on in Beacon Hills. She remembered that he was one of the leads Laura had left about the Hale fire and wondered if Harris had known Laura before she died.

Pulling out the notebook paper from her pocket, Leah smoothed it out, seeing that it was the poorly drawn scribble of Allison's necklace. Leah furrowed her brow, not being able to figure out how a cheap looking necklace connected to the fire. She thought back to when she saw Allison last wearing her necklace, trying to remember if there was anything special about it.

"Earth to Barbie!" Leah flinched back as Stiles snapped his fingers in front of Leah. She snapped out of her thoughts and gave Stiles a glare as she shoved his hand away from her face. "Thinking about what color lip gloss you're gonna wear for tonight's game?" Stiles teased. Leah rolled her eyes at him, continuing her walk up to the school entrance.

"More like thinking about all the ways I could seriously injure you." Leah snapped back. Stiles scoffed,

"You can't even reach me."

"Yeah, maybe not your neck, but definitely…" Leah trailed off, looking down at Stiles' crotch. Stiles immediately reacted, placing his hands over his crotch area. Leah smirked at Stiles before shaking out her hair and turning away from him.

"You'll never see it coming, Coleslaw!" Leah called out as she walked away from Stiles, waving her hand up in the air at him.

Leah was trying her best to live up to what she had said to Stiles during the full moon—that nothing had changed between them. Being mean to him still came easy to her, but Leah could feel her crush on him bubbling under the surface so she needed to shove it down with thoughts of something else. Whether it be dealing with what Connor had admitted to her the previous night, or something more trivial was still up for grabs.

And it seemed the universe decided to give Leah a break from the heavy stuff, letting her have to deal with normal teenage problems; during Psychology, she saw Allison hurrying down the hall, wiping at her eyes. Leah straightened up in her seat, trying to get a better view as to what was happening, but Allison disappeared. Raising her hand in the air, Leah figured she better see what had happened to Allison.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Leah asked aloud. Her Psychology teacher raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know, can you?"

"Jesus." Leah whispered under her breath, lowering her hand, "It's like you get off on these things." She heard the person sitting next to her chuckle under his breath. "Yeah, I can." Leah said a bit louder, picking up her bag and heading for the door as her Psychology teacher gave Leah a pursed lip look Leah was so accustomed to. Leah walked out of class, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Allison?" Leah called out, trying to get her friend's attention "Allison!" Leah raised her voice a bit, hurrying after her. She caught up with Allison and grabbed her arm, "Hey, hi." Leah said, when Allison looked back at her.

"Hi." Allison softly said as Leah let go of her arm

"What's going on?" Leah asked Allison, scanning her face.

"Scott." Allison wiped at her eyes before pressing her books to her chest.

"What happened?" Leah asked being a bit more forceful as her brows furrowed.

"He sent me all these pictures of us." Allison shook her head, "And it just…it hurt." Allison raised her shoulders up.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you." Leah said, shaking her head, "Scott's just…he probably thought that the pictures would make you happy." Leah tried to calm her friend down.

"Well, they didn't." Allison responded, shifting her weight, "They made me feel like I was the _worst_ person in the world for breaking up with him." Leah chewed down on her bottom lip as she tried to think of what to say next. She took in a breath and looked back at Allison,

"I'll talk to him." Leah settled on, reaching out to rub Allison's arm.

"Oh, no, you don't have to—" Allison started to shoot Leah down.

"I will." Leah stopped Allison, giving her a small smile, "I don't know what I'm going to say, but I'll try my best to see what's up."

"Okay." Allison softly said, "I should go." She thumbed behind herself. Leah nodded and rubbed Allison's arm again before taking a step back. Allison turned and walked down the hall, heels clicking as she went. Leah took in a breath and went back to her class, sliding down into her seat.

"Here are the slides you missed." Leah looked over to see a boy offering his notebook to her. Eyeing it for a moment, Leah glanced up at the kid and raised her eyebrows as he continued, "You could copy them if you want."

"Thanks…" Leah trailed off, a bit hesitant as she took the notebook from him.

"Is Allison okay?" The guy asked, making Leah do a double take, "I saw her run past and then when you got up…I figured you were going after her—I know you two are friendly."

"She's fine." Leah curtly said, flipping the cover of the kid's notebook over, "Thanks for the concern, _Matt_." Leah read off the name, glancing at Matt. He gave her a small smile matched with a short nod.

* * *

As the bell rang, Leah gathered up her things, trying to catch up Scott as he moseyed out of the Chemistry lab. She hadn't talked to him since the previous night; they hadn't gone to school together and they had a pop quiz in English then the Chemistry sub gave them a project and made it abundantly clear that talking equaled a trip to the vice principal's office. And since Leah didn't want to risk her chances of getting taken off first line right before the game, she dutifully obliged. Even though Allison and Scott were technically still Chemistry partners, somehow Allison ended up with Lydia and Scott ended up with Lydia's partner. Leah didn't know how it happened, but she was grateful she didn't have to watch the awkwardness between the two.

Her bag thumped against her hip as she spotted Scott at his locker. She went up to him and slammed his locker door shut, making him jump in surprise, "Hey." Leah said as Scott gave her a taken aback look.

"You're the second person who's done that to me today." Scott breathed out, shaking his head. Leah gave him an unamused look.

"Why did you send Allison those pictures?" Leah asked, hand still on his locker door. Scott looked at her then back at his locker then back to her,

"She told you?" Leah nodded and Scott sighed, "I—I don't know." Scott rolled his head back, "I thought they would make her happy."

"Listen, _dumbass_." Leah stared at her best friend, "She broke up with you. You have to wait for her to start talking to you. You don't make the decisions." She pointed at him.

"I'm sorry, okay!?" Scott raised his shoulders up, "I just…I thought it would be a good way to ease back into talking to her and then I could get the necklace." Leah stared at him before pushing off his locker door.

"You know nothing about girls." Leah sighed out crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, no shit." Scott blew out a breath. Leah shook her head at him, a small and amused smile on her face. She couldn't help it—Scott was like a puppy, always trying to make the people he cared about happy and know that he was there. Plus, he had never had a serious girlfriend like Allison before so of course he was going to do some stupid things post-breakup. Leah thought it was kind of sweet and knew he only had good intentions.

"Here." Leah changed the subject, digging into her pocket for the piece of paper, "This was left at the house last night." She handed Scott the drawing of the necklace.

"I know what it looks like." Scott said, glancing at the picture.

"Yeah, I know, I just don't want it." Leah said with a shrug. "You got a plan?"

"Nope." Scott looked back at her and Leah raised her eyebrows at him,

"Great." She said, "Just remember no more pictures." Leah pointed at him as she walked by him, Scott following her with his eyes, "No more texts or phone calls, or anything."

"How am I supposed to get the necklace?" Scott called out after her. Leah raised her shoulders up and gave him a look before turning and walking to her locker.

After dropping her books off at her locker, Leah walked into the cafeteria, grabbing a basket of chicken fingers, a water bottle and an apple. She turned out of line and scanned the cafeteria, looking for any sign of Scott, but before she could find him—Allison caught her eye and gave her a wave, seemingly in a better mood than when Leah saw her last. Leah lifted her tray up at Allison, giving her a smile as Allison motioned for her to join the table. Taking in a breath, Leah started over to Allison's table, realizing that Lydia was sitting next to Allison so the only available space was next to Jackson.

"Hi!" Allison grinned at Leah as Leah set her tray down on the table. Leah caught Lydia's eye, remembering how she had seen Lydia and Scott making out a few days before. Lydia quickly glanced away, eyes darting over to Allison before she looked down at her salad. Leah realized that Allison was unaware of Lydia's make-out session with Scott and Leah couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as she sat down next to Jackson.

"Seems like _someone_ took my advice." Lydia all about bragged as she took in Leah's appearance. Allison looked confused, but amused as she looked at Leah then to Lydia, "Haven't you heard? Leah's got a crush." Lydia widened her eyes as Leah let out a deep sigh. Allison looked to Leah, the amused, knowing grin growing. Leah subtly shook her head, mouthing the word _no_.

"I feel like we haven't eaten together in forever." Allison commented, moving on.

"Well, you did break up with my best friend so I've been trying to divide my time equally." Leah responded. Allison swallowed and nodded, looking back down at her food. Leah noticed Allison's change in demeanor and tried to save herself, "But, it's about time for a little…girl time." Leah lamely finished. She took in a breath and sat up straighter, "You coming to the game tonight?" Leah changed the subject.

"Duh." Lydia rolled her eyes, waving her fork in the air as Allison screwed her mouth to the side.

"I don't know…" Allison looked in between the girls, "I just think I should put some space between me and Scott right now." Leah scrunched up her features and nodded.

"Especially since he sent you those photos." Lydia droned out, "I mean, desperate much? It's clear he wants you back." She stabbed at her salad.

"Well, I talked to him," Leah started, "And he promises no more pictures." She shook her head. Allison gave her a small smile, ducking her head down.

"Speaking of exes," Lydia jumped in, changing the subject again, "We were just talking about who Allison should take to winter formal." Allison looked up at that and looked in between Lydia and Leah.

"Oh." Leah managed, cracking open her water bottle, "Super fun." She dryly said, getting an amused look from Allison.

"Who are taking?" Lydia directed her question at Leah, shifting in her seat.

"Uhm, no one." Leah licked her lips, "Considering I'm not going to formal." Lydia and Allison's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What?" Allison asked at the same time Lydia went, "You have to go!"

"No…I don't." Leah carefully said, picking at her chicken finger, glancing at Jackson who had been staring at her intently, "It's not mandatory."

"Well…" Lydia sat up straighter, "It is for those of us who want to stay relevant."

"Great." Leah pulled the corners of her mouth down, "I'm good though." Lydia let out a deep sigh before turning back to Allison, asking her to go to the bathroom with her. Leah quickly turned her head to the side, staring right back at Jackson.

"Take a picture, Jackass, it'll last longer." Leah snapped out as Jackson smirked at her,

"I know about McCall's little secret." Jackson simply said.

"What secret?" Leah squinted at Jackson. "There are no secrets."

"Sure there aren't." Jackson jutted his chin out at Leah, "Scott knows what I'm talking about. But, just so he gets it," Jackson leaned closer to Leah, "If he doesn't get me what I want—the bite, by tonight's game…I'm gonna tell Allison all about his after school activities." Jackson threatened her.

Leah made a face and let out a small laugh as she looked away from Jackson. She spotted Scott talking to Stiles, looking worried, but Stiles was ignoring him—eyes on Leah and Jackson. When he noticed Leah looking at him, he quickly looked away, turning his attention to Scott. Leah licked her lips and turned back to look at Jackson, seeing how close he was to her face. She took in a breath and pushed to her feet. Grabbing her backpack, Leah stepped around Jackson, tips of her fingers on the claw marks left on the back of his neck from that night at the movie rental store,

"If you do anything," Leah leaned down to whisper in Jackson's ear, "I swear to _God_ , tonight's game will be the _last_ game you play in." Leah pressed her fingertips into Jackson's neck wound, making him hiss in pain.

She patted Jackson's shoulder and walked away from the table, glancing over to see Stiles smirking at Jackson and he glanced to Leah, giving her a raised eyebrows look. Leah returned the look with a shrug, pulling the corners of her mouth down as she casually flipped Stiles off. Turning away from Stiles, Leah ended up stepping right into Lydia and Allison as she went to leave the cafeteria. Leah made up an excuse about having to meet with her advisor as she walked past them. Allison nodded at her, giving her a warm smile and mentioning how she wouldn't be in their free period; she would be at the pool, so they would catch up during the day. Nodding, Leah slipped past the girls and exited the cafeteria, not looking back.

Leah sat outside of the cafeteria, waiting for the bell to ring and for Scott and Stiles to come spilling out with the crowd. Luckily, the pair were one of the first out so she quickly hopped off of the window edge and went after them.

"Hey!" She grabbed Scott's arm, yanking him towards her.

There was too much force and Scott wasn't paying attention so he went flying back into Leah as he turned around. Leah caught him against her and Scott placed his hand on her hip to steady himself. Leah rolled her eyes and gently pushed him away from her as Scott gave her an apologetic smile. Stiles paused and doubled back as Leah looked in between the two,

"Was anyone gonna tell me that Jackson knows about…the _w_ word?" Leah lowly said, glancing around her. Scott and Stiles shared a look before turning to walk down the hall, Leah pushing herself in between the two. "It's true? He really figured it out?"

"Unfortunately." Stiles sighed, rubbing his hand over his head. "Is that what you two were talking about?"

"Yeah." Leah rolled her eyes, "I could practically smell the steroids on his breath." Leah put her hand up, indicating how close Jackson's face was to hers.

"Thought he was asking you to formal or something." Stiles joked.

" _Please_." Leah made a face at Stiles, "If I ever go to any dance with Jackson willingly, please just punch me."

"Yeah for sure, always down to punch you." Stiles pulled the corners of his mouth down as he nodded. Leah rolled her eyes in response, looking back at Scott,

"So he knows."

"He accosted me at my locker this morning!" Scott waved a hand out, "Saying stuff about how I need to get him the bite before the game tonight or else he's gonna tell Allison all about me. And! And he kept taunting me about getting with her!" Scott looked devastated and Leah couldn't help but feel bad.

"I guess this is what we get for talking about this shit in the middle of a school hallway." She said with a grim look on her face. She paused and then took in a breath, "So? Are we gonna kill him or…cause I already threatened him and I would love to make good on a threat for once." Stiles let out a small laugh as Scott immediately shot her down,

"No." Scott made a face as he looked down at Leah, "No, we're not gonna kill him."

"Then…?" Leah trailed off.

"I think I have a plan." Stiles spoke up, getting Leah to look at him. Leah raised her eyebrows as the bell rang, making Scott groan.

"Okay, I still need to get the necklace from Allison." Scott reminded his friends, "Any ideas?"

"Steal it." Leah raised her eyebrows, "She has a free period next and she mentioned she was swimming. She probably doesn't swim with it on so…" Leah made her eyes wide, trying to silently communicate with Scott. Scott gave her a confused look, "It might be in her bag." Leah finished, moving her head as Scott ended the sentence with her,

"In her bag." Scott nodded and gave them a thumbs up before heading off towards the pool. Leah rolled her eyes and turned back to Stiles,

"So, you have a plan?" Leah raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes." Stiles nodded and grabbed her elbow, dragging her over to the row of lockers. Leah stepped back from his grasp and crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain, "Who has Danny as a partner?" He asked.

"Uh, Eli." Leah answered with a nod.

"Do you think you could get them to switch with you?" Stiles flicked a hand between the two of them, "Since we're partners, you could get Eli as a partner and then I'll be Danny's partner."

"Yeah, I'm sure I can make that happen." Leah shrugged, "Why do you need Danny as a Chemistry partner?"

"Part of the plan." Leah raised her eyebrows at him, Stiles took in a breath and looked around, before leaning closer to her, "Remember when we were trapped at the school?"

"Unfortunately." Leah grimaced as Stiles continued,

"Someone sent a text to Allison." Stiles explained, "She thought it was from Scott's phone—"

"But Scott didn't have his phone."

"Right, so maybe the text was sent by the Alpha." Stiles rocked back on his heels. Leah made a face, nodding a bit.

"Makes sense." Leah took in a breath, "So you need Danny to…?"

"Track the phone number that the text came from." Stiles simply said, "We're gonna see where it leads."

"Hopefully to the Alpha." Leah added on.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	23. Trip Down Memory Lane

After school, Allison caught up with Leah asking if she wanted to go on a run. Leah agreed, figuring it would give her a distraction; she had already done her part to track the Alpha and she wasn't in on Scott's plan to get Allison's necklace.

Allison pulled her car up to the parking lot outside of the trails that ran through the Preserve. They had made a quick pit stop at Allison's house so she could get changed—Leah grabbed some extra clothes from her locker in the locker room, so Leah tried to find the necklace in Allison's room while Allison was changing. Leah couldn't immediately spot it so she decided to send a quick text to Scott informing him that the necklace might be in Allison's room which would be empty for an hour or so.

Lacing up her sneakers, Leah looked across the woods, watching Allison lightly stretch. She gave Leah a happy smile, which Leah returned, pushing out of her crouch. Leah walked over to Allison, placing her hands on her hips,

"Ready?" She asked, putting her earbuds into her ears. Allison nodded and did the same, clicking at her iPod that was wrapped in her armband.

The girls took off at an easy pace, Leah matching Allison in her strides. She tried to focus on the music rather than the intrusive thoughts about what had happened to her when she was younger that had started bubbling up again. She still hadn't told either of the guys about her conversation with Derek and Connor; it seemed like more important things kept coming up. So she pushed it out of her mind, deciding to think about other things.

The trail was relatively easy and Leah's muscle memory started coming back to her as they ran; before the supernatural made their appearance, Leah didn't mind running through the woods when the town was too crowded. But ever since Scott had been bit, Leah had tried to avoid the woods unless she was forced to go out there because she didn't know what lived in between the trees.

Towards the end of the trail, Allison deviated from the markers and Leah had no other option but to follow. The girls went off of the trail and into the Preserve, Leah beginning to recognize where Allison was leading her. Allison's pace slowed as they came upon the remains of the Hale house. Leah took her earbuds out and paused her music, looking from the house to Allison,

"What are we doing here?" She asked as Allison pulled out her earbuds.

"I'm just curious." Allison glanced to Leah before motioning to the house, "I mean, this is where he lived, right? Derek, the guy who trapped us in the school."

"Uh, yeah, yep." Leah twirled one of her earbuds around her finger. "I don't think this is a good idea." Leah warned, but Allison ignored her, looking back at the house before walking towards it. Leah took in a breath and followed after her friend.

The pair climbed up the front steps, Allison pushing the door open with a creak. Leah looked around the house, worried that Derek had retreated from her house to his house. She didn't know what she would do if Derek was there—how she would explain anything concerning Derek or what she knew.

But the house was eerily quiet as Leah looked around. There was no sign of Derek or her brother, almost like they were never there. Connor had cleaned up all of his file folders and research that he and Derek had been doing. Just in case anyone, like an Argent, were to come searching for Derek again.

Leah walked around the front room, looking at the broken and burnt items. She walked up to the far window, peering into the Preserve through the broken glass. Suddenly, Allison let out a shrill scream, making Leah jump and she felt something slice against her arm as she whirled around. Standing in front of the girls was Kate Argent, hands over her ears, grimacing at the sound, "Damn, you got some lungs on you!" Kate yelled out after Allison was finished screaming. She opened her eyes and looked from Allison to Leah as Allison pulled herself together.

"Did you follow us here?" Allison asked, a bit breathless.

"Well, you can't blame me for being concerned about my favorite niece, now can you?" Kate paused, "What are you looking for?" Leah looked to Allison before looking back to Kate, guard up as she eyed the older Argent.

"I don't know. Something. Anything." Allison sighed out.

"You?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at Leah.

"Moral support." Leah bit out, "He tried to kill us. Obviously we're curious as to why." Leah stared at Kate, who nodded and pursed her lips before looking around the room.

"Well, I mean, come on, look at this place." Kate laughed a little, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Could you imagine if your parents were trapped in something like this?" Kate motioned around, looking back at Allison, "It might do some pretty interesting things to your head, don't you think?"

"It wouldn't turn me into a _psychotic_ killer." Allison said, shaking her head.

"You don't have to be psychotic to be a killer." Kate snapped back, "You just need a reason. And even then, sometimes…" Kate trailed off as she ran her hand up the burnt wood of the doorway, "You can surprise yourself." Kate looked at Leah with a knowing smile. Leah swallowed and tried not to look away, but Kate's gaze was intense and Leah couldn't help but look away first. The way Kate was acting while in the house was making Leah uneasy, almost like she was proud of what had happened.

"What do you want, Allison?" Kate said, turning back to face her niece. Allison paused and stomped her foot a little, biting her bottom lip as she looked to Leah for a moment,

"I want to not be scared." Allison admitted, looking back to her aunt, "That night in the school, I felt utterly weak. Like—like I needed somebody to come in and rescue me. I hate that feeling." Allison motioned to herself. Leah crossed her arms over her chest, getting an uneasy feeling. She knew exactly what kind of feeling Allison was talking about. She hated it, but she hated how Kate looked like Allison was playing right into her hand even more.

"I want to feel stronger than that. I want to feel _powerful_." Allison seemed desperate. Kate nodded and stepped up to Allison, a small smirk on her face.

"Allison, if you can give me just a little bit of time…" She walked behind Allison. Leah kept her eyes on the older Argent woman, wary as she trailed her hand across Allison's back, "Be just _a_ _little_ patient, I think I can give you exactly what you want." Kate stepped away from Allison. Allison nodded slightly and looked to Leah,

"We should go," Allison said to Leah, "You don't wanna be late for your game." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded. Allison looked over to her aunt, giving her a small smile before walking away. Leah glanced to Kate, stepping to follow Allison only to be stopped when Kate grabbed Leah's arm.

"This looks pretty nasty." Kate made a face as she turned Leah's arm over, pointedly looking to where the glass had sliced against Leah's arm.

"Oh fuck." Leah noticed, brow furrowing as she looked at her bleeding arm. It wasn't a deep cut, but it still made her bleed. "I should probably put a band-aid on that."

"Or you could just wait a few moments." Kate's grip tightened a bit as she tilted her head to the side, making a face.

"Why would I do that?" Leah asked, brows furrowing. Kate shrugged and made a face, examining the wound,

"Not too deep, should heal up pretty quick." Kate mused.

"Uh, unless I have magical healing powers, I think I should probably put a bandaid on this." Leah yanked her arm away from Kate's grasp, " _Jesus_." Leah eyed Kate for a moment, who crossed her arms over her chest,

"Those marks on your wrist…they look like claw marks." Kate stated, raising her eyebrows.

"Birthmarks." Leah snapped out before whirling around and stomping out of the house.

Leah jogged down the stairs, looking at her arm and wiping away the blood—it wasn't that bad of a cut once the blood was gone so Leah wasn't too worried about it. She was worried about Kate noticing the marks on her arm from whatever happened to her when she was younger. But Leah tried to push the feeling away as she caught up with Allison. Allison turned and gave her a small smile, running her hands through her hair. Raising her arm up, Leah showed Allison her cut with a grimace,

"Told ya that wasn't a good idea."

"Oh shit." Allison's eyes went wide as Leah stepped up to her, "How'd it happen?"

"Window, I guess." Leah shrugged, "It's not the worst I've had." Allison gave her a small smile, "Come on, let's go." Leah dropped her arm and walked past Allison, heading back to the running trail.

Allison jogged to catch up with Leah, arms crossed over her chest. The two walked in silence for a bit before Leah looked to Allison, "Hey, your aunt is, uh, kinda intense." Leah mentioned offhandedly.

"Oh, yeah, sorry bout that." Allison made a face as she looked at Leah, "But I mean, I meant what I said."

"Yeah I get it." Leah nodded, "I feel the same." Leah gave her a small smile, "It's just like, why can't we fight for ourselves? Why do we always need men, _boys_ , to try and protect us?" Leah raised her shoulders up and made a face.

"Exactly!" Allison motioned to Leah, "God, yeah." Allison pushed her hair back.

"So…your aunt can teach us that stuff?" Leah asked, "Like does she have experience with being around serial killers?" Allison made a face and shrugged,

"I guess. I don't know." Allison's brow furrowed, "I don't know a lot about her actually." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded.

The girls fell into a silence, the leaves crunching under their feet as they walked to the trail. Leah crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at Allison, who looked a little nervous. Turning to face front, Leah stepped over a log and felt a small pang of guilt in her gut. Kate wasn't the only one lying to Allison and Leah figured it was about time she started telling her friend the truth.

"Lydia kissed Scott." Leah blurted out, making Allison's head whip to the side and her eyes go wide.

" _What?!"_ She cried out. Both girls stopped walking and Allison crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an explanation. Leah took in a breath and looked away from her friend before looking back,

"Yeah, uhm, I saw it happen…" Leah scratched her temple, "And I was going to tell you, but then I didn't." Leah made a face, looking at Allison who looked away disappointedly, "It wasn't mine to tell. It was Lydia's. I thought she was going to tell you." Leah took in a breath, tired of making excuses, "Fuck, I'm sorry, Ally. It was such a shit thing to keep this from you."

"She kissed Scott." Allison slowly said. Leah nodded, looking away from her.

"Uh, if it helps, I kinda stopped it from going any further." Leah looked back at her, squinting a bit. Allison gave her an unamused look, "And I heard Jackson broke up with her, so…" Leah continued, not really knowing where she was going with it.

"Anything else?" Allison raised her eyebrows at Leah. Leah took in a breath and paused for a split second before shaking her head; now was not the time to tell Allison _everything_.

"No, that's it." Allison let out a huff and looked around the forest before shaking her head slightly,

"I can't believe this." Allison whispered, falling back on her heel and letting her arms drop to her sides.

"I can." Leah made a face and Allison gave her a look, "Sorry." Leah lamely added on. Allison took in a breath and continued walking, Leah falling into step next to her,

"Well, what do I do now?" Allison asked.

"I—I don't know." Leah truthfully admitted, "I've never had this happen to me." Allison let out a disbelieving laugh and shoved her hand through her hair, tugging it up.

"Goddamnit!" Allison yelled out. Leah blinked at the sudden outburst and took in a breath.

"If it helps, Scott feels really bad about it." Leah added on, crossing her arms over her chest. Allison looked over to her and let out a scoff, "I'm serious!" Leah sighed, "I know you hate him right now, but he does feel bad." Leah paused, "This is his first serious heartbreak and I don't know, I think it's hard for him. He's trying his best." Leah gave Allison a small smile. Allison returned it as they got to the end of the trail.

The sun was beginning to set as the girls got back to the parking lot. Leah walked around to the passenger side door, checking her phone as she went to see that she was supposed to be at the school in a half an hour. The run was only supposed to take an hour but their detour made it longer and a lot more complicated.

Leah's phone rang as she and Allison shut their respective doors. Stiles's contact name appeared on the screen and Allison noticed, raising her eyebrows at Leah. Leah licked her lips before answering,

"Hey."

" _Where are you?"_ Stiles asked over the line.

"Uh, just finished a run with Allison. We're at the trails at the Preserve." Leah quickly said, making sure Stiles knew not to say anything about his plan.

" _I'll pick you up in ten."_ Stiles responded.

Leah hung up her phone and turned to Allison, who was waiting expectantly, "Uh, he offered to pick me up on the way to the school. For the game." Leah added on.

"Oh, okay!" Allison nodded, "I can wait." Allison gave her a small smile and Leah returned it.

"Thanks."

"Did you talk to him?" Allison asked, brow furrowing, "About what happened?"

"Oh, yeah." Leah waved her hand around in the air, "Told him it didn't mean anything cause it doesn't. We're fine." Allison gave her a knowing look, but didn't press.

There was a bit of silence between the two as Leah picked at loose thread on her shorts. She glanced at her phone before looking to Allison, "Hey, uhm," Allison glanced over to Leah, "if you wanna get back at Lydia, you could always set her up with Stiles for the formal." Leah shrugged as Allison's brow furrowed,

"Why would I do that?"

"To torture her." Leah blinked at Allison as if it were such a simple answer, "I mean she'd have to go with _Stiles_."

"But doesn't Stiles, like _love_ Lydia? And what about you?" Allison asked and Leah shrugged again,

"I'm not going to formal." Leah tried to play it cool, "It really doesn't matter to me." Allison eyed Leah for a moment, trying to see if Leah was lying or not.

"Okay." Allison settled, figuring she'd just give Leah what she wanted—or thought she wanted, "I'll talk to Stiles about it." Leah nodded at her, giving her a small smile.

Stiles's Jeep shuddered up behind Allison's car and Leah bid goodbye to Allison, citing that she would see her at the game before she got out of the car, bag in hand. Wrapping her earbuds around her phone, Leah walked over to the Jeep and opened the passenger side door.

"Holy hell!" Leah jumped in surprise at the sight of Derek crouched in the back of the Jeep, out of sight.

"Shut up." Stiles hissed out as Leah slammed the passenger side door. Leah gave him a wide-eyed look as he started driving.

"Start talking." Leah demanded after they got far from the Preserve. She looked in between the boys as Stiles drove, "Did you trace the text?"

"Yeah, yep." Stiles nodded, "And you're not gonna like where it came from."

Leah realized he was going towards the hospital instead of the school and she gave him a look, "Why are we going to the hospital?" Stiles handed her a piece of paper and Leah used her phone flashlight to read it, "No…" Leah started as Stiles bobbed his head, "No, this isn't right." Leah pushed up in her seat, looking back at Derek, "Connor said it was male. The security camera across the street from the video store got him on tape."

"That footage was not the best." Stiles shook his head, "It could've been anyone."

"It's _not_ Scott's mom." Leah seriously said,

"There's only one way to find out." Stiles sighed as he pulled into the hospital parking lot and Leah took in a breath. She swallowed as Stiles' phone beeped with a text, Scott's name coming up on the screen.

"Scott sent a picture of the necklace." Stiles pulled up the picture message and the familiar pendant that Allison constantly wore was displayed. Then Scott called Stiles, making Stiles answer.

"Hey." Stiles answered, putting the phone to his ear, "…Yeah, I did, and it looks just like the drawing." Derek grabbed Stiles' arm, yanking the phone away from his ear as Stiles yelped in pain.

"Hey, is there something on the back of it? There's gotta be something. An inscription, an opening, something." Derek said into the phone. Leah shifted in her seat so her back was against the window and she could look at both Derek and Stiles.

 _"No, no, the thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing."_ Scot's voice came over the speaker, _"And where are you? Do you know where Leah is?"_

"I'm here." Leah piped up, leaning forward.

 _"Both of you are supposed to be here. You're first line."_ Leah glanced at Stiles as he placed the phone back to his ear.

"I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him—tell him I'll be there, I'll just be a little bit late, okay? All right, thanks." Stiles hung up the phone.

"You're not gonna make it." Derek stated the obvious. Leah chewed on her bottom lip, eyes darting to the front of the hospital then back to Stiles.

"I know." Stiles sighed out.

"And you didn't tell him about his mom, either." Derek added on.

"Not till we find out the truth." Stiles tilted his head to the side, avoiding Derek's gaze.

"By the way, one more thing." Stiles looked at Derek, who promptly grabbed the back of Stiles' head and slammed it forward so it hit against the steering wheel. Leah jumped in surprise as Stiles yelped out in pain

"What the hell was—"

"You know what that was for." Derek cut him off as Stiles rubbed his head, "Go. Go!" Stiles clambered out of the Jeep, cursing under his breath. Leah raised her eyebrows as she looked at Derek.

"Do I even want to know?" Leah asked. Derek let out a huff in response. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag, pushing out of the Jeep and hurrying to catch up to Stiles. She swung her bag over her shoulder as she fell into step with Stiles,

"What the hell was that for?" She asked, pulling her sleeves over her hands.

"I might have… _used_ him to get Danny to trace the text." Stiles continued to rub at his forehead.

"Oh, well, then you totally deserved it." Leah laughed out.

"Shut up. It really hurts." Stiles made a face.

"Oh yeah? Worse than this?" Leah asked, raising her arm up to expose her cut. Stiles grimaced and dropped his hand from his head,

"How the hell did that happen?"

"Allison dragged me out to Derek's house to _find some answers_ and I nicked myself on some glass." Leah explained.

"Wait, _find some answers?"_ Stiles repeated, "Do you think she's getting suspicious?"

"Not sure." Leah sighed, dropping her arm, "But her aunt isn't helping." Stiles sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets,

"Okay that's _not_ our biggest problem right now." Stiles said, motioning to the hospital and Leah nodded in agreement.

* * *

Connor was flipping through his file folder as he walked down the stairs. He turned into the living room and looked up to see his mom sitting at the kitchen table, files spread out across the table. He closed his folder and stuffed it under his arm, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked into the kitchen,

"Hey." Connor got his mom to look up and give him a warm smile,

"Hi, hon." Tara sat back in her chair, "You coming to Leah's game tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah I'll probably meet you there." Connor pulled out the chair across from his mom and sat down, "Excited to see her play on first line." Tara grinned at him and nodded,

"I had to talk your dad out of making a sign." Tara laughed, getting an amused grin from Connor,

"Leah'd kill him."

"She'd pretend to hate it but she'd love it." Tara nodded and Connor made a face, agreeing with her.

"How's the case?" Connor asked, changing the subject. Tara gave him a knowing look and Connor shrugged, "I can help if you want."

"You're beginning to sound like Leah." Tara sighed. Connor put his hands up in defense,

"Alright, alright." He pushed out of chair and walked over to fridge, grabbing a water and heading out of the kitchen. He kissed the top of his mom's head as he walked by and went into the living room.

Flopping down on the couch, Connor opened his file on his stomach, pulling out his phone to see the picture that Stiles had sent him earlier. One of the high school kids had traced a text that Allison had gotten from the Alpha. Connor wasn't sure how Stiles got the kid to do it, but he knew Stiles was smart enough not to say anything stupid.

Connor zoomed in on the picture, studying where the text came from. It seemed that whoever sent it, sent it from the hospital computer under Melissa McCall's name. Connor was about eighty-eight percent sure Melissa didn't send the text—he had known the woman for a very long time and she never seemed like the time to go around murdering people Alpha style. Connor took in a breath and looked back at the hospital logo. His brow furrowed as he sat up, letting his phone drop and picking up the file folder.

The file folder contained the police records from the Hale fire. Connor scanned the documents, looking for a specific part—he practically had the documents memorized, he had read them so many times. But he wanted to be sure.

"Oh no fucking way." Connor realized as he found what he was looking for. He moved off the couch, picking up his phone and dialing Derek's number. As the line rang, Connor's eyes stayed trained on the name. The name of the Alpha.

* * *

"So are we just gonna go in there and accuse Mrs. McCall of trapping us in the school and murdering all of those people?" Leah asked as Stiles and her walked through the sliding doors.

"We're just gonna talk to her." Stiles responded, motioning to Leah.

"She can't be the one killing people. She's Scott's _mom_." Leah glanced to Stiles. Stiles took in a breath and nodded.

"I know. I know, I just—it's the only other lead we have."

Leah wrapped her arms around her waist and turned the corner, heading down to the nurses' station; Mrs. McCall wasn't at the front desk. Peering down the hallway, Leah realized there was no sign of her best friend's mom.

"Fuck, where is she?" Leah whispered out, letting out a sigh. Stiles dug into his pocket for his phone, glancing around the hallway and heading down one way, "Do you think she already went to the game?"

"Yeah, we can't find her." Stiles said into his phone, not answering Leah. Leah sighed and recognizing the hall they were walking down—it was where Derek's uncle was being kept. Watching the room numbers go by, Leah paused in front of Peter's room, noticing that there was no sign of Peter.

"Yeah, well, he's not here either." Stiles said into the phone, looking into the room with Leah, "He's gone, Derek."

"You've certainly grown up, Leah." Leah heard a smooth voice say from next to her. Her head flicked to the side to see a standing, half burnt face of Peter Hale staring back at her with a cool smile. Leah's heart went to her throat as she felt Stiles' hand on her arm.

"You're the Alpha." Leah realized, whispering it to herself even though everyone could hear her.

"And you must be Stiles." Peter said, looking over Leah's shoulder at Stiles. Stiles' hand slid down to grasp her hand and he started to tug Leah away from Peter. Leah couldn't take her eyes off of the man though, her feet tripping over each other before she slammed into Stiles since he abruptly stopped walking.

"What are you doing here?" Leah heard a female voice say. She looked over her shoulder to see a bitchy looking nurse staring at the two of them, "Visiting hours are over."

"You—and him." Stiles looked in between Peter and the nurse, "You're—you're the one who—Oh, my—and he's—Oh, my God, we're gonna die." Stiles figured it all out as Leah was trying to. He moved his free hand over his head and Leah shook his other hand from her hand as Derek stepped out and elbowed the bitch nurse in the face, breaking her nose and knocking her out.

"That's not nice." Peter cooed, "She's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people." Derek snapped back, "Get out of the way." He directed his order to the two teens.

"Oh, damn." Stiles muttered out before pulling Leah down on the ground with him. Peter and Derek were above them as the teens cowered under them.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family?" Peter started preaching as Derek let out a roar, eyes burning a bright blue as he lunged for Peter. Leah flinched at the sound, pulling her knees to her chest as Peter easily caught Derek. He slammed Derek into the wall before spinning around and slamming him into the wall next to the teens.

Leah scrambled away from the falling piece of drywall, following Stiles as he went down the hall. She grabbed her bag from where she had dropped it, avoiding the unconscious nurse. Stiles and her managed to get around the nurses' station and Leah started to rifle through her bag.

"Now's not really a good time to reapply your lip gloss." Stiles snapped out as Leah heard another slam.

"Oh, really? Figured I try and woo Peter." Leah snapped back, glaring at him as her hand met her taser.

"My mind, my personality, were literally burned out of me." Peter was explaining himself. Leah heard Derek cough, "I was being driven by pure instinct." She pulled out her taser and Stiles' eyes went wide. Leah made a face and shrugged,

"You want forgiveness?" Derek asked and then Leah heard the sound of heads hitting each other. The teens peered around the station to see Peter fling Derek back against the wall, going down with a not so good sound. Leah grimaced as Peter stalked past teens, not paying attention to them.

"I want understanding." Peter corrected Derek. Leah glanced at Stiles, who nodded at her, before she pushed to her feet, stepping out and raising her taser, "Do you have any idea what it was like for me during those years?"

"No offense to your story-telling skills, but I'll pass." Leah said before pressing down on the trigger. The wires of electricity shot out and went into Peter's back. Peter didn't even flinch as he spun around. The taser went flying out of Leah's hand and clattered to the ground.

"Fuck." Leah whispered out, backing up and tripping over the debris. Peter stalked toward her and Leah reached up to her necklace, fumbling with it as Peter got closer.

"Oh, come on now, Leah." Peter cooed, head tilting to the side, "You seem to have forgotten all the fun we've had."

"I've been forgetting a lot of things." Leah snapped out, "Don't take it personally." Her fingers finally got a good grip on the vial and she tugged it from her neck, snapping the chain.

"Well, let's take a little trip down memory lane." Peter lunged for Leah.

Leah barely had time to react before feeling his claws go into the back of her neck. She gasped as her chest arched up, eyes going wide at the sensation. Peter removed his claws and Leah felt her knees give out, vial of mountain ash slipping through her fingers as she fell to the ground, sight going blurry. Voices echoed around her as different scenes flashed before her eyes—a fire, a basement full of people panicking as fire spread, then a normal house on a normal day, hundreds of different moments rapidly played in Leah's head and Leah caught glimpses of herself and her brother; it was like someone hit the rewind button on a home video.

Then everything went dark.

When Leah opened her eyes, she was standing in front of an unburnt down Hale house. There was no one around and the forest was eerily silent. Carefully, Leah examined herself, looking for any sign of bodily harm—there was nothing. Leah took in a breath and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked up the front steps. The Hale house was more like a mansion, something to be jealous of and Leah actually felt bad that a house like the one she was standing in front of was set on fire.

The door opened easily and Leah stepped inside, taking in a breath at the sight of how beautiful the inside was. It was decorated nicely and everything was neat and tidy. Leah looked around, slowly remembering the house—where she played, where she ate snacks and where she had sleepovers. Leah smiled to herself, running her hand up the doorframe. Then she heard voices from the second floor. Leah looked to the stairs and started to follow the voices.

Once at the top of the stairs, Leah peered into one of the bedrooms, seeing two figures in the room—one standing and one sitting. Leah realized that it was Peter and Laura. Laura was holding a wolf figurine in her hands, turning it over as she talked,

"God, I'm so stupid." Laura was saying, "I should have never let Cora be around Leah yesterday."

"None of us knew her transformation would come this quick." Peter easily said, leaning against the wall,

"Leah's traumatized!" Laura yelled out, pushing to her feet and throwing an arm out, "What happened with Cora scarred her!" Peter sighed, looking uninterested in what Laura was saying.

"If only there was a way to make her forget about it…" Peter trailed off. Laura gave him a look.

"She's too young. It would do more than remove the memory of Cora shifting." Laura seriously said,

"So we let young Leah roam around, knowing our secret." Peter said, rolling his head around. "She's a child, but she's smart, Laura, and kind of a pistol. Who knows what could happen if she were to tell someone." Peter paused, "Actually, I know what would happen. A wolf hunt." Laura looked down at the wolf figurine, twisting it in her hands.

"I can't do it." Laura shook her head, "I'm _not_ doing it. And neither will Mom." Laura pointed at Peter before stomping by him and out of the bedroom.

"Guess I'll have to find someone else then." Peter murmured to himself before extending his claws.

There was a high pitched noise, causing Leah to put her hands over her ears. Leah opened her mouth and let out a small whine as the sound became louder, falling to her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt blood run down the back of her neck.

"Barbie!" Stiles was yelling, shaking the small blonde, "Jesus Christ, open your eyes!" Leah squeezed her eyes closed before opening them. His face kept moving around, going in and out of focus, "Barbie, hey!" He kept yelling. Leah's eyes darted around, trying to focus on something, anything.

"Oh my God, Leah, please." Stiles pleaded.

"I'm fine." Leah managed out, "I'm fine." Leah realized Stiles was hovering over her, looking down at her. She felt his hand in hers and one the side of her face. Her eyes went wide as she suddenly sat up, making Stiles quickly pull back so their heads wouldn't collide. She swallowed and pushed her hand against her forehead, looking at Stiles as she shifted into a more comfortable sitting position,

"What happened? Where's Peter and Derek?" Leah asked, other hand going to the back of her neck.

"I don't know." Stiles truthfully said, raising a hand up, "You were spazzing out after Peter shoved his claws into your neck, so I was little preoccupied." Leah looked at him, realizing that he had stayed with her instead of going after Derek. She gave him a small and embarrassed smile, hand coming away from her neck. She looked down at the ground for a moment before remembering what had happened.

"Oh my God, we have to tell Scott!" Leah cried out, getting to her feet, Stiles quickly following suit. The room spun and Leah felt Stiles' hands on her hips to steady her. "I'm fine." Leah said, pushing out of his grasp, "Come on." She stumbled down the hall, avoiding the debris as she tried to get out of the hospital.

"Shouldn't we put something on your neck?" Stiles asked as they got outside.

"It stopped bleeding. I'll be fine." Leah said, shaking her head. She climbed into the passenger seat of the Jeep and Stiles handed her her backpack before he started the Jeep up, reversing out of the parking lot and heading for the school.

* * *

Twirling his keys around his finger, Connor walked across the school parking lot, staring at his phone. There were no new texts from Leah or Derek after what he had told Derek. Plus, Leah and Stiles hadn't shown up to the game, which worried Connor even more. He had figured out that the Alpha was Derek's uncle Peter, which was probably the worst thing that could've happened; Peter was Connor's least favorite Hale. When they were growing up, after Connor was informed about the werewolfness, Connor found out that Peter had been keeping himself young by some sort of werewolf healing so he could act like an older brother to Derek rather than an uncle. Peter was supposed to be a little younger than Talia, but he looked more like Laura's twin.

But when Connor informed Derek about Peter being the Alpha, Derek told him the two teens were already in the hospital looking for Melissa. The call cut off before Connor could do anything else and he hadn't been able to get in contact with his friend or his sister. Connor actually felt kind of stupid for not figuring it all out sooner, it was right in front of his face the entire time.

He looked to where his car was parked, seeing a figure leaning against it. Getting closer, Connor realized it was Derek, "Man, what the hell!" Connor yelled out, jogging up to Derek, "Where the hell have you been!?" Connor shoved Derek back a bit.

"Realizing things." Derek seriously said, looking away from Connor,

" _Realizing things!?"_ Connor repeated, sounding incredulously. "What?!"

"Derek and I had some catching up to do." Connor slowly turned at the sound of a familiar voice, jaw clicking a bit.

"You sonofabitch." Connor all about growled out, fists clenching as he stared at Peter. The older man looked different than when Connor had saw him last—like he had aged two times over. It seemed like the energy it took to heal himself cost him his youth.

"Good to see you too, Connor." Peter raised his eyebrows at Connor, nodding a bit.

"What did you do to him?" Connor seriously asked, referring to Derek.

"Nothing." Peter shrugged, "Like I said…we caught up." Peter paused, "Talked to Scott too." Peter examined his nails and Connor swallowed, jaw clicking.

"Stay away from him."

"He's my beta, Connor." Peter furrowed his brow, "You know that he's mine, no matter what."

"Fuck you." Connor spat out, "He's not like you."

"Oh but he will be." Peter nodded, "In time." And that's when Connor threw his fist against Peter's face. Peter's head snapped to the side and Connor swung again before tackling him to the ground.

He landed another punch on the Alpha, well aware that Peter could—and probably would, kill him at a moment's notice, but he just didn't care. Connor wasn't usually a violent person, but everything he had been keeping down for the past few weeks finally broke the surface; his anger at Peter for turning Scott —using him, putting his sister and her friends in danger and now whatever the hell he had done to Derek, all came out in his fists. Then Derek grabbed him off of Peter, tossing him to the ground. Connor went to get up, but Derek punched him in the nose, making Connor groan and fall back against the ground.

"Stay down." Derek warned, "You know it's better this way." Connor glared at him, wiping the blood from under his nose. He watched as Derek stepped over him, helping Peter to his feet and walking away. Connor was left on the ground, cursing at himself; he knew Derek was only going with Peter to protect Scott. His friend would sacrifice himself before letting anyone get hurt because of him.

* * *

The parking lot was empty, as was the lacrosse field, when Stiles and Leah finally got to the school. They pushed out of the Jeep, hurrying to the locker room entrance, Stiles following close behind Leah.

"Scott!" Leah called out as she got to the hallway, "Scott?" She opened the boys' locker room door as Stiles called out for their best friend.

"Over here." Scott's voice came back. Leah went down the aisle of lockers and found Scott sitting on the bench by the showers, wrapped only in a towel, elbows on his knees.

"Dude, we have a _huge_ problem." Stiles said, stepping up next to Leah. Scott looked over at his friends, looking pale and sweaty.

"Trust me, I know." Scott replied back, sounding defeated. Leah stepped forward, sitting down next to him. Her eyes searched his face and body, trying to figure out what happened.

"What happened?" She finally asked.

"You're bleeding." Scott didn't answer her question. His eyes were locked on her neck.

"Crimson wave." Leah simply answered, hearing Stiles make a disgusted sound, "Tell us." Leah urged, eyebrows raising as she reached for his hand.

Scott took in a breath before launching into the story of how Peter and Derek had cornered him in the locker room after the game—which Beacon Hills won. Both Stiles and Leah listened as Scott told them about Peter transferring memories of the fire and memories of Peter killing the two guys at the rock park. It seemed like Derek was on Peter's side now, doing whatever Peter wanted. Leah couldn't help but feel nervous about what that would bring.

"What happened to you two?" Scott asked.

"Barbie had a lovely trip down memory lane." Stiles said, motioning to Leah. "Turns out she and Peter have some history."

"What?" Scott asked and Leah realized she never told them what Connor had admitted to her the night before. She took in a breath and decided to tell the short version,

"Peter decided to share some memories that I've been made to forget." Leah sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"He took away your memories?" Scott asked, eyebrows raising.

"Wait, what?" Stiles asked. Leah turned to look at him.

"I don't actually know if that's true." She said, looking away from Stiles and holding up her hands, "The memory ended before I found out."

"But you're okay." Scott stated.

"I'm okay." Leah said, giving him a small smile. Scott nodded and then looked up to Stiles.

"So what now?" He asked.

"I don't know about you two, but I've had it up to here with werewolf business tonight." Stiles said, raising his hand up. Leah rolled her eyes and looked at Scott, who gave a small laugh.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	24. Cut the Crap

Leah startled awake, eyes popping open as she scrambled to get out of the nightmare she was having. It was the same one she had been having ever since her encounter with Peter: being stuck in the Hale house while everyone burned around her, turning in slow motion as she tried to get out, feeling like she was moving through Jell-O, looking behind her to see where the threat, the monster was, only to trip over herself. The flames overtook Leah, surrounding her so she would try to get out, only to start suffocating. She'd reach out towards a hand only for it to turn into claws. The last thing she saw were the claws, swiping towards her, though she always woke herself up before she fell into the claws.

"Hey," Leah took in a deep breath as she blinked back tears, hand to her chest to feel her heart pounding. She felt the bed shift as whoever was next to her move, "Hey, you're okay." She felt his hand on her shoulder as he sat up in bed, "It was just another nightmare." He assured her. Leah nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, looking over at Stiles and giving him an embarrassed smile,

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She mumbled as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and gave her a soft smile.

"S'okay." He assured her. His thumb rubbed a small circle against her shoulder and Leah stared at him for a moment, leaning closer to him.

Her eyes quickly darted from his mouth to his eyes and he looked like he was trying not to smile. Leah let her eyes flutter shut as she felt him move closer to her, lips brushing against hers. Her eyebrows furrowed as she reached up to pull him closer so she could kiss him a little more deeply. Stiles responded and moved so he was almost sitting on top of her, making Leah move back to give him more room.

Breaking away from him, Leah laid back against her pillows, allowing Stiles to hover over her, arms on either side of her as he smirked down at her. He rolled forward, dipping his head down and kissing her again, this time a little more passionately. Leah's eyes closed and she lifted her hand to press against his cheek, only instead of feeling the softness of his skin, she felt bumps and ridges instead. Pulling back and opening her eyes, Leah came face to face with a half-burned Peter Hale.

Connor abruptly woke up to the sound of Leah's screams, which made him catapult himself from his bed and sprint to his sister's room, throwing the door open to see her upright in bed, clutching her covers to her chest. Her head whipped to look at him, her eyes meeting his, wide with fear. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as Connor slowly walked over to her, hands out in front of him,

"It was a nightmare. It was just another nightmare." Connor assured her, getting to the bed. Leah nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat as tears threatened to spill over, "You're awake. Deep breaths, deep breaths." Connor tried to calm his sister down, "What time is it?" Connor asked, making Leah look to her clock,

"One seventeen am." Leah read off the numbers and slowly began to calm down; she was awake—there were no clocks in dreams. Connor nodded and lowered his hands,

"I'll get you some water." Leah gave him a grateful smile and nodded. Her brother quickly walked back into the hall, going down to the bathroom. Leah shifted so she was sitting up against the window, feeling the coolness of the glass against her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair and took in one last deep breath before letting it out slowly; she was awake.

"Here." Connor offered Leah a small glass of water from the bathroom, which Leah took in both of her hands. He sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully watched her, "Same nightmare?" Leah swallowed her gulp of water and nodded,

"This time it was like a dream within a dream." Leah blinked, "Like whatever was leftover from Peter's memories forged with my own subconscious thoughts." Leah realized, "It was, uh, not great." She said, looking into the water glass and raising her eyebrows,

"Yeah, I bet." Connor grimaced, "How are the marks healing?"

"Slowly." Leah nodded, gingerly reaching back to touch the bandages there, "But healing."

"Let's keep an eye on them, okay?" Connor asked, getting a nod from Leah, "Sometimes if the claws go deep enough, they can turn you."

"Oh, shit, seriously?" Leah asked, eyes going wide. She didn't know that, "I mean, we would know, right?"

"I'm sure you're fine." Connor assured her, "Just keep an eye on them." Leah nodded again and sipped at her water.

"Hey, uhm," Leah got Connor's attention, licking her lips before she spoke again, "You know how you told me to tell you if anything was happening…up here?" Leah tapped her temple. Connor nodded, seemingly interested, "I, uh, have been having trouble remembering things." She admitted, picking at the edge of her water glass, looking into it, "I mean, it's nothing serious, but…I just thought you should know." Leah finished with a sigh, looking back at her brother.

"How often does it happen?" Connor asked, brow furrowing. Leah shrugged, not wanting to get into it, "…Okay," Connor nodded, realizing she didn't want to get into the nitty gritty details, "just, let me know if it happens again." He settled on, getting a quick relieved smile from Leah.

"I will." Leah nodded, "And thanks." She lifted her water glass, "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Better me than Mom." Connor reminded her, patting her knee, "Try and get some sleep, okay?" Leah nodded as Connor got off her bed. He looked down at her, noticing how nervous she looked, "Do you mind if I sleep in the chair?" He asked, trying to be casual, "Long walk back to my room." He shrugged as Leah pulled the corners of her lips down,

"No, yeah, go for it." Leah motioned to the chair in the corner of her room, "It's pretty comfy, actually."

"Yeah, I've seen you asleep in it plenty of times. Figured I might as well try it out." Connor got Leah to roll her eyes and considered it a small victory. He walked around the bed to the chair, adjusting the pillows and grabbing a blanket from under the window seat. Glancing back at Leah, he noticed how she looked a little more relaxed than before. "Night." Connor gave her a small smile, getting a nod back from Leah as she set the water glass on her nightstand, shifting down in her bed.

Leah snuggled under the covers, rolling onto her side so her back was to Connor. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed as she saw the same images from before: the fire, the claws and fangs and Peter looming above her. She quickly opened her eyes and stared into the darkness for a moment before rolling over. Looking at her brother, Leah tried to calm herself down, forcing herself to think of happier things. She didn't know how long it took, but eventually sleep overtook her.

* * *

Kate ducked under the garage door as it opened in front of her, Chris following behind her. They had just spent the night trying to track down the Alpha, but kept coming up empty.

"It hasn't been an issue since we lived here." Chris was continuing their conversation from the car,

"All I'm saying is that firing those things so close by is bound to draw some attention." Kate responded, walking into the garage and heading for the door to the house. Chris raised the shredded arrowhead and looked at his younger sister,

"These things have saved my life more than once, and I know how to be inconspicuous when I need to." Chris said before tossing the arrowhead into the trashcan. Kate walked up to him, making a face,

"This coming from a man whose preferred weapon is a _crossbow_." She teased as she walked to the table where the weapons lay, "You know these extra skills are something you could be teaching your daughter." Kate casually brought up the topic of Allison, looking over her shoulder at her brother,

"Not yet." Chris shook his head as Kate raised her eyebrows,

"Ever?"

" _Not yet."_ Chris repeated himself, emphasizing his point. Kate looked down at the table, placing her hand into her pocket as she looked over her other shoulder where she knew Allison was sitting in her car, trying to hide from the older Argents,

"You coming?" Chris asked as Kate placed one of the unused arrowheads on the table before turning back to her brother,

"Yeah. Coming." She followed her brother into the house, glancing at Allison's car for a moment before heading inside. Kate paused as she closed the door, watching as Allison got out of her car and went over to the trashcan, pulling out the shredded arrowhead before reaching for the unused arrowhead. Kate smirked to herself as she watched Allison study the arrows; her niece was heading right where Kate wanted her to.

"So are we sure Jackson's the second beta?" Chris asked as he walked into his study, Kate following behind him.

"It's not Leah." Kate crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, "When I saw her at the Hale house, she had a cut that wasn't healing." Chris nodded as he went around his desk, looking for something specific, "But I know she knows something." Kate walked in front of his desk, placing her hands on it,

"How? She could be completely clueless. Maybe her brother kept those secrets from her too."

"She was there, Chris. I _remember_ seeing her with Derek and Connor when we were living here before." Kate pressed, knowing Leah had to be involved somehow. She just wasn't sure how. Chris gave her a look, not feeling the same as he opened one of the drawers,

"She's not a concern right now." Chris changed the subject, "She's not the second beta, so she's not a threat. You know who is?"

"Jackson." Kate nodded as Chris pulled out a tracking device.

"If you're wrong about this…" Chris warned, pointing at his sister,

"I'll figure it out." Kate responded, "The claws could've gone deep enough to turn him." Kate reminded her brother. Chris solemnly nodded before closing the drawer and walking out of the office. Kate watched him go before looking back down at the desk, still thinking about Leah Kane. There had to be someway Kate could figure out what the teen knew—maybe even get her on the Argent's side.

* * *

The next morning, Leah walked out of her house to see Scott waiting at the end of the walkway, straddling his bike and giving her a sympathetic smile. Leah lazily walked to him, setting his birthday gift to her down on the street next to him,

"Heard you screaming last night." Scott quietly said. Leah took in a breath and looked down at her longboard, stepping on it as she decided how to answer,

"Yeah, saw a spider." Leah settled on, pushing off with her foot and letting Scott catch up to her,

"Still having nightmares?" Scott asked as he pedaled next to her.

"Yeah, Scott, I am, okay?" Leah snapped out, looking over to see her best friend look hurt, "Sorry." Leah blew out a breath, "Sorry, I haven't been sleeping, obviously." Leah made a face as she looked down, leaning a bit to the side to direct herself,

"Any more memories resurface?" Scott curiously asked,

"No." Leah shook her head, "I don't think any more are actually going to come back without some sort of trigger."

"Like what Peter did?" Leah looked over at Scott and nodded.

"I mean, it's fine." Leah made a face, looking away from her friend. "I've gone this long, right?" Scott didn't say anything which caused her to look back at him, "It's fine, Scott."

"I just don't understand why they would do this." Scott paused for a moment, "Have you talked to Derek?"

"Haven't seen him since that night at the hospital and then—according to you, he ran off to the dark side." Leah glanced at Scott, "So for some reason, I don't think I'll be seeing him anytime soon."

"What about Connor?"

"Hasn't heard from him either." Leah pulled her lips in and shook her head. "He thinks Derek's doing Peter's bidding as a way to keep you safe and I'd have to agree. Peter wants _you_ , Scott and he'll do anything to get you in his pack." Leah gave him a sympathetic look. Scott's brow furrowed and he looked frustrated. Leah noticed and stepped off her board as they got to the school parking lot,

"Scott, it's fine." She said, holding up her hands, "Okay? Totally and completely fine." She made a face as she reached down to pick up her longboard,

"You aren't at least curious?" Scott asked as they went over to the bike rack.

"I mean, yeah, but…it's not something that's on the top of my list right now."

"Why?" Scott's brow furrowed. Leah looked at him before giving him a small smile. She reached out to rub his arm,

"You just worry about you, okay?" Leah raised her eyebrows at him and he nodded at her. She gave him a small smile and walked away from him, heading for the locker room to drop off her things.

As Leah came out of the locker room, Kyle came up to her, a grin on his face. Leah's brow furrowed at the sight of him, turning as she walked towards her homeroom. Kyle fell into step next to her, looking down at her with a grin,

"Hey." He nudged her, getting her to look up at him.

"Hi." Leah let out a little laugh as she realized it seemed like he was walking her to homeroom, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Kyle shrugged, "Just pretty excited we made states."

"I heard." Leah nodded, eyebrows raising "Sorry I couldn't be there to help you guys out." She clenched her teeth together as she apologized.

"S'okay." Kyle shrugged again, "I mean, we would've been better if you were there."

"Ah, thanks." Leah laughed a little and shook her head.

"No, I'm serious. You're a great player." Kyle was moving his arms around as he talked. Leah gave him an amused smile.

"Thanks, Kyle." Kyle looked down at Leah, grinning at her.

"Hey, do you wanna maybe go to formal with me?" Kyle suddenly, very casually, asked. Leah stopped walking, but Kyle didn't notice and kept walking.

"What?" She asked, laughing a bit. Kyle turned around and walked back up to her as he talked.

"Do you—" He pointed at Leah, "Want to go to formal—" He was speaking slowly, "With me?" He pointed to himself, before breaking out into a little dance.

" _You're_ asking _me_." Leah pointed to herself.

"Is there another Leah Kane at this school?" Kyle asked, looking around himself.

"Uh, no." Leah shook her head, eyebrows raising as a smile began to appear, "I'm just a little…surprised." Leah shrugged, "Didn't think you would ask me."

"Well, why not?" Kyle asked, hiking up his backpack straps. Leah chewed on her bottom lip before looking back at Kyle. She didn't think he would question it,

"Because I'm a sophomore and you're a junior." Leah stated the obvious, rocking back on her heels.

"So? That doesn't matter." Kyle gave her a grin, "I think you're pretty and funny and I bet you have some serious dance moves." Kyle made Leah roll her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. Leah looked down at her feet, laughing to herself.

"Well, yeah, actually I'm pretty great." Leah looked back up at him, nodding as Kyle laughed a little,

"I knew it." Kyle grinned at her, "So? Whatta say?" Leah took in a breath and looked around the hallway. The bell rang and Leah looked back at Kyle, seeing that he was looking at her expectantly,

"I gotta get to homeroom." Leah settled on, making Kyle roll his eyes,

"Alright, alright." Kyle put his hands up, "I get it, you gotta think about it."

"Sure." Leah laughed before walking past him, "I'll see ya around." Leah glanced over her shoulder to see Kyle looking at her with a grin on his face. Leah rolled her eyes before heading into her homeroom.

Throughout the day, Leah managed to act like everything was fine. But she kept thinking about her nightmare, mainly the one she had the night before. It was something she couldn't stop seeing, especially whenever she saw or interacted with Stiles. Throughout the day, she kept close to Allison whenever it was possible, trying to ignore Stiles as much as she could. During lunch, she barely paid attention to the boys' conversation because she couldn't stop thinking about how Stiles was in her dream—even more so _what_ he was doing in her dream. She kept sneaking glances at him, trying to figure out if she should say something about it, but in the end, she kept quiet. And when Scott asked if everything was okay, she brushed him off, citing that it was lack of sleep.

The end of the day couldn't have come fast enough for Leah and she was grateful when the final bell rang, signaling she could get the hell out of school and far away from Stiles.

"Hey, hold this?" Allison asked as Leah stepped up to her. Allison was holding out her jacket as she stood in front of her locker, obviously struggling. Leah nodded and took the jacket from her friend along with a few other books.

"Thanks." Allison gave her a grateful smile as she shut the locker door, taking back her things from Leah's arms. Something fell out of Allison's jacket pocket and Leah reached down to pick it up,

"Oh, this is intense." Leah said as she picked up the arrowhead. "Where'd you get this?" She asked, slowly spinning it around to study it.

"Uh, found it in my garage, actually." Allison admitted, stepping up to take it from Leah, "Saw my aunt and dad talking and I guess one of them left it there. I don't know what it does though."

"Harm, probably." Leah frowned, "What are you gonna do with it?"

"Haven't decided yet." Allison's brow furrowed as she looked down at the arrowhead, "Maybe head out into the woods and try it out?" Allison looked up at Leah and shrugged. Leah raised her eyebrows,

"Right, okay." Leah nodded. Allison gave her a small smile and stuffed the arrowhead back into her pocket. She turned and Leah fell into step beside her, both of them walking out of school together,

"Jackson asked me to formal." Allison changed the subject, swinging her hips to look at Leah. Leah raised her eyebrows and Allison laughed a little, "I mean, as friends, of course, but…"

"Payback's a bitch." Leah nodded and Allison gave her a knowing smile, "Wow, Ally, you can be seriously _evil_ , can't you?" She gave her friend a proud smile,

"She made out with Scott." Allison raised her shoulders up, "It's only right. And I'm not gonna do what she did."

"Take him to the office and make out with him?" Leah raised her eyebrows as Allison gave her an unamused look, "Rise above it." Leah nodded, "But still make her suffer." Leah added, getting a grin from Allison,

"Exactly." Allison responded as the two of them walked outside, " _And_ , I heard Kyle asked you to formal." Allison nudged Leah, grinning at her,

"Who did what?" Stiles asked, shoving himself between the girls. Allison laughed and shook her head at Stiles as Leah looked away from him.

"I _said_ , Kyle asked Leah to formal." Allison repeated herself, leaning forward to look around Stiles at Leah. Leah licked her lips and took in a breath as Stiles did a double take,

"Kyle. As in lacrosse Kyle. As in ROTC, junior, _Kyle_." Stiles motioned at Leah as she raised her eyebrows,

"That'd be the one." Leah nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets. Stiles pulled down the corners of his lips and looked from Leah to Allison, who shrugged, looking amused.

"I gotta go." Allison said as the three of them walked down the stairs,

"Oh, no, don't—" Leah started, trying to save herself. But Allison stepped away from the two of them, waving a bit before hurrying over to her car. Lydia was standing there waiting, arms crossed over her chest. Leah watched the two of them get into Allison's car before she looked back at Stiles,

"Kyle asked you to formal?" Stiles asked again.

"Oh my God." Leah shook her head, turning her hips and squinting, "I gotta go, Coleslaw." She looked back at him.

"Hey, no, are you going with him?" Stiles asked, reaching out to her.

"I don't know." Leah shrugged, "Why are you so curious?"

"Well, I mean, I—I thought that we would go together." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck. Leah felt her stomach worms come back as she squinted at him,

"What?" She asked, not sure she heard him right,

"Yeah, like you, me, and Scott would all go together." Stiles waved his hand around in the air and Leah lifted her chin up a bit as Stiles continued, "You know, as friends."

"Right, yeah." Leah made a face and looked away from Stiles, feeling the stomach worms retreat. She scuffed her toe against the sidewalk and took in a breath, looking back at him, "Honestly, I don't even think I'm gonna go, so I guess you and Scott are gonna have to go together." Leah raised her eyebrows up at him. She turned at the sound of someone running up to them, seeing Scott slide to a stop in front of them,

"We gotta go, _now_." He seriously said,

"What? Why?" Leah dropped her arms from where they were crossed over her chest,

"Jackson." Was all Scott said before taking off. Leah rolled her eyes as Stiles watched Scott run to the Jeep, then look back at her.

"Nope, no." Leah put her hands up, "I don't care about whatever stupid shit Jackson has gotten himself involved with now." Leah raised her eyebrows as Stiles groaned, heading falling back.

"You're the worst." He complained before shrugging his backpack up higher and going after Scott.

"I'll see ya around, Coleslaw!" Leah called out as she leaned forward before turning around on her heels. She walked away from Stiles, grabbing her longboard from where she had wedged it between Scott's bike and the bike rack.

Once she was off of school property, Leah set her board down and pushed off, heading towards her house. Her thoughts began to drift to her conversation with Stiles and how nervous-slash-excited she got at the thought of going to formal with him. But then he reminded her that they were friends, _just_ friends. She shook her head, trying to stop obsessing over it and forcing herself to be content with being his friend; it was much more than she ever was with him—they were pretty much enemies up until a few days ago.

As she rolled towards her house, Leah heard a car pull up beside her and she looked over to see Kate Argent giving her a wide smile, "Hey, sweetie."

"Uh, hi." Leah responded, obviously confused. She looked from Kate to further down the street before looking back to Kate, "Can I help you?"

"Do you want a ride?" Kate asked, rolling alongside of Leah.

"Nah, I'm good." Leah made a face, shaking her head.

"It wasn't really a question." Kate tilted her head to the side and clenched her teeth together, "Get in the car, Leah." Leah put her foot down to stop herself from rolling forward,

"Why would I do that?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Kate laughed to herself, looking away from Leah for a moment,

"God, you remind me so much of me when I was your age." Kate looked back to Leah with an amused smile on her face, "Come on, get in. I promise not to bite." Kate winked at Leah, who let out a sigh. She stepped off her board and looked down the street, wishing another car was coming so Kate would have to move, but the street was empty. She sighed before leaning down to pick up her board, then wrenching the door open and getting into Kate's car.

"What." Leah stated, looking over to Kate.

"Nothing." Kate pulled her chin to her chest and shrugged, "Just giving an old friend's younger sister a ride home."

"Really." Leah seemed doubtful, "Exactly how close were you and my brother again?" Leah asked, shifting in her seat so she was looking at Kate. Kate made a face and shrugged, her dirty blonde curls bouncing as she moved,

"Close enough. He was a few years younger than me, but we always said hi in the hallways. He was a pretty popular guy." Kate casually explained, "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." Leah made a face, "Don't remember him ever mentioning you when I was younger." Kate nodded, giving her a smile,

"Well, I remember you." Kate tilted her head at Leah, "You two were pretty close." Kate laughed a little, "Still are?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows,

"Uh, take a left at the next stop sign." Leah directed Kate before answering her question, "I guess, yeah we're pretty close." Leah shrugged, she was trying to tread lightly, not knowing what Kate's endgame was,

"Good." Kate nodded, but she was quickly tiring of playing nice with the teenager, "So I'm sure you're well aware of his friendship with Derek Hale." Kate made her eyes wide and moved her head around.

"Uh, yeah, he's mentioned his name a few times." Leah made a face as she picked at the hole in her jeans, "Not the greatest guy to be friends with, considering he killed all of those people."

"Yeah, but you and I know that isn't true, right?" Kate asked, letting out a small laugh. Leah looked at her, not responding and playing her part. Kate did a double take, seeing Leah's confused look and she let out an amused groan, "Oh, Leah, cut the crap. I know you're well aware of the werewolves of Beacon Hills. Don't play innocent with me. Your brother tried to convince me you didn't know, but..." Kate made a face, "Let's just say your brother was never good at lying to me." Leah gaped at her for a moment before sitting back in her seat, arms crossing over her chest.

"Pretty risky just assuming that I know." Leah mumbled out and Kate shrugged.

"Bound to find out sooner or later."

"Like Allison?" Leah fired back, seeing a small smile from Kate, "I knew it!" Leah accused, " _You_ left that arrowhead out for her to find. _You_ gave her the pendant and _you_ helped her with her history project." Leah realized, connecting the dots. "You've been setting her up all along!" Leah cried out, "God, I knew it!" Leah fell back in her seat,

"Just like your brother did to you, I'm sure." Kate volleyed back, trying to show that she wasn't the bad guy. Leah stayed quiet, leaving Kate to come up with her own answer, "I'm sure your brother told you _all_ about them…and us." Leah took in a sharp breath and looked away from Kate, staring out the windshield.

"Well, I know you set a house full of werewolves on fire." Leah mumbled out and Kate laughed, giving her an amused look,

"Honey, I hate to burst your bubble, but that just isn't true." Kate shook her head, "We're here to _protect_ you and your friends." Kate looked at her, "We don't set houses on fire." Leah made a face, raising her eyebrows quickly as she kept her gaze away from Kate,

"What do you want from me?" Leah asked, knowing Kate had a plan. She glanced over to see Kate giving her a pleased smile,

"I just want you to help me." Kate innocently said, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she looked back at the road, "Just like your brother did all those years ago."

"Connor would never help you." Leah snapped out. Kate raised her eyebrows and shrugged,

"Sure about that?" Kate asked, "How well do you _actually_ know your brother, Leah?" Kate glanced over to Leah, who chewed on her bottom lip. She looked away from Kate as she gave a knowing laugh, "We can help each other, you know."

"How?" Leah doubtfully asked, arms crossing over her chest.

"Listen, honey, I know you." Kate raised her hand up, "Hell, I _was_ you." Leah let out a scoff and rolled her eyes as Kate continued, "Feeling powerless in a world full of werewolves? Relying on your wit and sarcastic bite to help you push down the feelings of uselessness?" Leah shifted in her seat as Kate pin-pointed her insecurities. Kate let out a laugh, "Trust me, I've been there. I know the game you're playing." Kate glanced over to Leah, "But I know deep down, you want to fight back, you want to be able to hold your own. And I'm sure you're willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself and whatever it takes to survive." Kate paused, "Lucky for you...I can teach you, show you how to survive...how to thrive, even." Leah looked back at Kate, tilting her head at her.

"In exchange for what?" Leah asked, knowing Kate's offer didn't come for free. Kate smiled at her, impressed with how quickly Leah caught on.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Derek Hale, the Alpha, hell even the second beta." Leah felt her stomach drop as Kate unknowingly mentioned Scott and she tried to keep her composure. She rolled her lips in and looked out the window, "Come on, Leah, if you weren't interested, you wouldn't be sitting here. You want the wolves out of your life, don't you? Go back to being a normal teen?" Kate paused, " So? Why don't you just help me with this and I'll help you get your life back." Leah eyed Kate for a moment before sighing,

"Look, I don't know where Derek is." Leah paused again before selling Derek out, "But last I heard...Derek figured out who the Alpha is." Leah heard Kate shift in her seat and she looked over to her, "I don't know who he is." Leah quickly lied before Kate could ask. "They didn't tell me." Kate sat back in her seat, running her hands over the steering wheel.

"What about the second beta?" Kate asked. Leah took in a deep breath, glancing away from Kate for a moment before looking back up at her,

"I don't know." She settled on, trying to keep her expressions in check. Kate raised her eyebrows at Leah, "I don't!" Leah raised her shoulders up, "Connor was right, I don't really know a lot. Just about Derek and his family and the fire." Kate eyed her for a moment before nodding. She let out a sigh and raised her eyebrows up,

"Well, I don't really need the second beta now since Derek knows who the Alpha is." Kate said to herself. Leah felt herself relax slightly; Kate wasn't going to go after Scott. She had one more question for Kate,

"How are you so sure Derek's gonna help you?" Leah asked.

"Because I can be _very_ persuasive." Kate gave her a wicked smile. Leah stared at her, swallowing a bit before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Leah pulled the corners of her mouth down and looked away from her. Kate reached over to shake Leah's knee and Leah forced herself not to flinch away from the touch,

"Don't worry, honey...once I'm done with you, you'll be just like me. Taking down werewolves left and right." Kate grinned at her as Leah eyed her, feeling her stomach begin to knot up, "Isn't that what you want?" Kate asked, noticing her uneasy look. Leah didn't answer and Kate took her hand off of Leah's knee, giving her a warm smile, that looked so wrong on her face.

"I think I'd rather just go about pretending I don't know anything. I'm a bit pacifist." Leah bit out, getting Kate to scoff as Leah declined her offer, "Thanks for the ride." Leah nodded at Kate before pushing open the passenger side door. She got out of Kate's car, turning back only to pick up her board. Kate reached out, grasping Leah's wrist and turning it over so the claw marks were exposed,

"Werewolves were the ones who did this to you." Kate seriously said, "Don't forget that." Leah and Kate stared at each other for a moment before Leah wrenched her wrist back. Kate pulled Leah's phone from her hand and quickly put her number in, "In case you change your mind." Kate gave her a knowing smile. Leah grabbed her phone back and shoved it in her pocket.

She slammed the door and stepped back from Kate's car, watching as it sped off down the street, feeling uneasy about the conversation she had just had.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	25. Done with Werewolf Drama

"I mean I'm sure you already know all of this," Connor gestured to the file folders and notebooks he had laid out onto the examination table. He looked up at Deaton, seeing him nod slightly, "But I don't know what else to do." Connor sighed out, pressing his hands against the table, "I should've caught it, realized it was him. All of the victims of the attacks had to do with the fire." Connor explained, "It makes sense."

"It does now." Deaton corrected him. Connor quickly glanced up at him and nodded, looking back down at the table.

He had spent the whole afternoon, into the early evening talking with Deaton about everything that had been happening over the past few days. When he was teen, Connor and Deaton were semi-close, Deaton was the Hale's emissary and would always give Connor advice or explain things that weren't always clear. Connor hadn't been able to talk to Deaton since he had gotten back, but with Peter being revealed as the Alpha and Derek disappearing with him, Connor figured it was as good as time as any to catch up with the older man.

"Right, well, I just thought I should bring you up to speed." Connor lamely finished.

"More of an excuse for you to just talk to someone about what's happening, don't you think?" Deaton asked. Connor rolled his lips in and nodded, shifting his stance a bit.

"I guess, yeah." Connor nodded again, "Is that so bad?"

"No." Deaton raised his eyebrows up, "Not at all. Talking it out can sometimes help us find answers to problems we didn't even know were there." Connor laughed lightly; he hadn't missed Deaton's cryptic answers.

"Alright, well, thanks, Doc." Connor said, starting to gather up his papers and Deaton gave him a warm smile in return.

* * *

The uneasiness Leah felt after her conversation with Kate hadn't gone away for the rest of the day. She tried to distract herself with homework, but kept thinking about what Kate had said. Deep down, Leah knew Kate was right; Leah wanted to feel more useful, but she didn't want to do it for the benefit of others—she wanted to protect herself. And she hated how easy it was for Kate to figure it out.

A knock on Leah's window made her look away from her homework, seeing Scott perched outside. She waved him in and Scott opened the window, stepping into her room. Leah rolled her chair back and got to her feet, going to sit on the window seat next to Scott,

"What's up?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Scott rubbed his hands over his face and let out a groan,

"Jackson's gonna get us all killed." Scott complained. Leah furrowed her brow, which made Scott launch into what happened between Jackson and him after school.

Jackson had been confronted by Argent, but before Jackson said anything, Scott and Stiles rolled up to stop it. After Argent left, Jackson then proceeded to tear down Scott and still insist that he deserved the bit. It seemed like both of them had tense after school confrontations.

"Why did you even try?" Leah asked, leaning forward to look at Scott after he had finished his story with a sigh, "I mean, seriously." She raised her shoulders as Scott took in a breath, "I know you want to protect everyone, but _Jackson_?" Leah emphasized, "He should be at like the bottom of your list."

"I don't know." Scott paused for a moment, shrugging before answering, "Because I can't risk him blabbing to Argent about me."

"Cause of Allison." Leah figured, getting a nod from Scott. He gave her a small smile before looking down at the ground.

"I, uh, gave her her necklace back today." Scott quietly said, "I used my super-sniffer—" Leah snorted at the nickname they had given Scott's werewolf tracking abilities, "And found her out in the Preserve…and then she kind of tazed me." Scott admitted, scrunching up his features. Leah scoffed at him, an amused grin on her face,

"That's what you get for stalking her like a creep." Leah nudged Scott, making him sway as he laughed a bit.

There was a moment of silence as the friends sat together before Scott spoke up again, "You still doing okay?" Leah pulled her lips in and nodded, pressing her palms against the seat.

"Doing my best." Leah settled on, deciding not to tell Scott about who she had gotten a ride home from. Scott gave her a small smile and nodded,

"I know you don't want anyone to worry about your—"

"Scott," Leah started, cutting him off in a warning tone. Scott stopped and closed his mouth, nodding a bit, "My problems _do not_ outweigh yours right now." Leah said, slowly shaking her head, "I am _fine_. Let's just figure out Peter's next move and then we can worry about whatever the hell is going on up here, okay?" Leah asked, motioning to her head. Scott nodded slightly, giving Leah the response she wanted.

He hated when Leah belittled her problems; she had been doing it since he met her, always thinking that her problems were less of an issue than anyone else's. It was a defense mechanism that was becoming worse and worse. Scott wanted to figure out what had happened to her, figure out how to get her memories back, but he knew he would have to do it without her knowing. If he kept asking about it or showing that he was worried, Leah would just pull back more and more, pretending that she was fine.

"I should go." Scott said after a moment, "Try and catch up on some homework." He sighed. Leah got off of the window seat, letting Scott stand up on it. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course." Leah nodded, giving him a small smile. She gave him a little wave as he stepped out of the window, onto the tree and climbing over to his bedroom. Leah shut the window, locking it and walking out of her bedroom.

Heading down the stairs, Leah heard the front door open and when she got halfway down the stairs, she saw Connor walking in, Allison following behind him,

"She should be—oh hey!" Connor said, noticing her and giving his sister a quick smile, "Ran into Allison outside, she said she was looking for you."

"Hey." Allison waved at Leah as Leah stepped off the bottom step. Connor looked in between the two before motioning over his shoulder,

"I'll be in the kitchen." Connor lamely said, excusing himself and heading for the kitchen.

"Sorry I just—I knew you lived next to Scott and I…" Allison trailed off and let out a small laugh, "Can we talk?" She settled on.

"Yeah, of course." Leah nodded, "We can go up to my room." She offered, getting a nod from Allison. Leah turned, walking back up the stairs she had just come down, Allison following behind her.

Leah led Allison to her room, flipping on the light as they walked in. She kicked a few dirty clothes into a pile before sitting down on her bed, Webster scampering in after Allison and jumping up onto the desk chair. Allison noticed and made a face at the cat before looking back at Leah,

"Didn't know you had a cat." Allison laughed lightly.

"Had him since I was like twelve." Leah nodded, "He just does his own thing, honestly." Leah waved her hand around as Allison grinned at her,

"Cats tend to do so." She agreed before walking over to sit down next to Leah on her bed.

"So, what's up?" Leah asked as Allison settled down. She twisted her fingers together for a moment, looking down at her lap. Leah stayed quiet, letting Allison gather her thoughts.

"It's Scott." Allison finally said. Leah raised her eyebrows, looking at her friend, "Lydia and I were out in the woods and then he was there and he gave me back my necklace." Her voice was soft, "And I keep thinking that I made the wrong choice by breaking up with him." Leah opened her mouth, ready to agree with her, but Allison continued talking before Leah could say anything, "And that arrowhead?" She looked at Leah, "It was some sort of flashbulb one. It—It exploded when it hit the tree." Leah grimaced and shook her head,

"That's intense." Leah managed out.

"I mean, why would we even have one of those?" Allison asked aloud, "We don't sell bows and arrows." Allison explained,

"Maybe it's new stuff for hunters?" Leah offered, inwardly hating herself for making such an ironic statement. Allison shook her head,

"I just feel like…people have been lying to me." Allison softly said. Leah took in a deep breath and looked down and away from Allison, "I mean, _especially_ my family…" Allison trailed off, "I just feel like they're keeping this big secret from me." Leah licked her lips and looked back at Allison, feeling guilty,

"I'm sure whatever they're keeping from you, it's because they want to protect you." Leah tried to calm Allison down while her gut knotted up with guilt.

"I hate that." Allison quietly, but seriously said, "I hate when people think that by not telling someone something, it's protecting them."

"So do I." Leah admitted, raising her eyebrows, "But sometimes the truth hurts." She managed out. Allison licked her lips, nodding slightly at Leah before looking back at her hands.

"I didn't come here to talk to you about that though." Allison shook her head, squinting a bit, "I mean, I came here to talk to you about Scott."

"What about Scott?" Leah asked, semi-grateful for the subject change,

"I don't know what to do. I want to talk to him about it. Everything." Allison admitted, raising her eyebrows quickly and Leah nodded,

"So talk to him." She said with a shrug, "He's _literally_ right next door." Allison was quiet, a small smile appearing on her face before disappearing again. Leah leaned forward, trying to catch Allison's eye, "Ally, seriously. Go talk to him. He trekked out into the woods to find you to give you back the necklace. He'd do anything for you. He'd listen to you and just make sure you're okay." Leah paused, remembering her earlier conversation with Scott, "That's just who he is, everything he does is for the benefit for other people." Allison looked over at Leah, giving her a small smile and a nod in response.

Leah's phone buzzed and she looked over her shoulder to see it lighting up with a text. Reaching over for it, Leah grabbed it and sat forward, seeing Stiles's contact name on the screen. She swiped her thumb over the message to view it, the corners of her mouth turning up as she read his complaint about what had happened with Jackson.

"Stiles?" Allison asked, an amused smile on her face. Leah quickly looked over at Allison and locked her phone, making a face as she shook her head,

"It was nothing." She shrugged as Allison raised her eyebrows,

"Come _on_." Allison groaned out, "Your face practically lights up every time you see him. And you actually smile. Not like the _making fun of Stiles_ smile or whenever you're _about to say something snarky_ smile, like a genuine smile." Leah rolled her eyes and let out a scoff as she tried not to smile, "Why don't you just tell him you have a crush on him?" Allison asked. Leah felt her stomach twist at Allison's question. The thought of telling Stiles that she had a crush on him made Leah sick to her stomach. She couldn't tell him; she figured he would just laugh at her.

"I can't." Leah shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because it would upset the delicate balance of hatred that we have going on."

"You two do _not_ hate each other." Allison shook her head, grinning at Leah.

"Yes, we do!" Leah protested, pointing at Allison. Allison gave Leah an unamused look. Leah raised her eyebrows and looked away from Allison,

"If I go talk to Scott," Allison started, stretching out, "You have to go talk to Stiles." She bargained. Leah paused, taking in a breath as she weighed her options. Her stomach turned as she looked back at Allison,

"Fine." Leah gave in, only agreeing to it for Allison and Scott's sake. She got a satisfied smile from Allison in return.

"Promise?" Allison asked, holding out her pinky finger.

"Yeah, yeah yeah." Leah droned out, wrapping her pinky around Allison's. "Whatever." Leah rolled her eyes as Allison stood up.

"Okay." She gave Leah a small smile, "I will text you later. I expect full details." Leah rolled her eyes again and nodded, getting to her feet. Allison reached out to pull Leah into a hug and Leah found herself hugging Allison back for a moment before she stepped back.

Leah walked Allison out, shutting the front door behind her. Then she turned, heading into the kitchen to grab something to eat. She saw her mom sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by papers and different file folders. Leah walked to the fridge, grabbing a cheese stick before walking over to her mom, sitting down across from her.

"Whatcha doing?" Leah asked, unwrapping the cheese stick and beginning to pull it apart.

"Asking myself why I ever stopped teaching middle school." Tara sighed out, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"Because the pay was shit." Leah answered for her, dangling a piece of cheese over her mouth before biting into it.

"But I was much better at it." Tara motioned to all the file folders, "This—I don't know what I'm doing."

"Do you have any leads?" Leah asked, reaching out for one of the file folders. She looked up to see her mom giving her a look.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tara asked.

"Helping?" Leah raised her eyebrows. Tara matched her expression, looking unamused, "Mom, come on." Leah slumped forward, "I'm not gonna tell anyone. Just let me help." She paused, looking down at the file, "I mean, a new set of eyes could pick out something that you missed."

"You think I missed something." Tara stated, not enjoying her daughter's attitude.

"…I don't know." Leah carefully said, looking back at her mom, "Anyway…" Leah looked down at the folder, opening it up.

"Leah." Tara sighed out, "You really shouldn't be looking at those."

"Yet you're doing nothing to stop me." Leah sang out as she looked through the reports. Tara shifted forward on her chair and leaned over the table.

"I just don't understand how Derek's involved in all this." Tara motioned to all of the reports,

"Mom, we've talked about this…" Leah trailed off, looking over at her.

"But why?" Tara ignored her, "Why did he kill his sister? Why Laura?"

"Woah, Todd was a convicted felon?" Leah asked, pulling out Todd's police report. She stared at the mugshot of the guy who she worked with before reading over the report.

"Of arson." Tara nodded and Leah placed the file down, going for another file.

"What about those guys in the woods?" She asked, reaching for a bigger folder.

"Arson." Tara said as Leah flipped open the folder. The bus driver's face stared back at her, "He was an insurance investigator assigned to the Hale house fire but was terminated under suspicion of fraud."

"No way." Leah whispered out, "So they _all_ had something to do with the fire?"

"Could be." Tara nodded at her, "You know what the sheriff always says. One's an accident, two's a coincidence—"

"Three's a pattern." Leah finished for her mom as she shut the folder.

"But that brings us back to _why_ Derek?" Tara moved her hands around, as she leaned back in her chair, settling her hands on top of her baby bump, "If he was going to kill everyone involved with the fire, why start with Laura? She had nothing to do with it." Tara sighed, "I don't know, it's just all so crazy. I mean first it was the mountain lions—Did you know, I looked this up, the instances of wild animal reports were up seventy percent over the past few months?" Tara raised her eyebrows, eyes going wide as Leah shook her head, "It's like they're just going crazy, running out of the woods." Tara waved her hand around in the air.

"Like something's scaring them out." Leah realized, brow furrowing. She figured that maybe with the arrival of Peter, the animals realized that he was a predator and started going crazy because they knew he was a threat. Or something along those lines.

Leah glanced at the clock and realized she still had to go talk to Stiles. She pushed back out of her chair, getting to her feet as she tried to close up some of the file folders.

"Mom, I gotta go." Leah said. "I'll be back later tonight." She promised, glancing over to her mom. Tara reached out to her, giving her a small smile.

"I miss talking to you." She said, squeezing Leah's hand. Leah returned the smile and tried to step back, only to stop when her mom started talking again, "I miss hearing about your day and about your friends." Tara paused, "I don't even know who that girl was—"

"Oh, that was Allison." Leah offhandedly said, but Tara wasn't listening,

"You used to tell me everything." Tara gave her a small smile, "I feel like I barely know what's going on in your life now. I want to be a part of your life again…"

"Mom—"

"I miss it." Tara cut her off, giving her tight smile, "Seems like you're always running somewhere. Always on the go." Tara let go of Leah's hand to motion in the air, "And that's good, okay? But just know that you can always tell me whatever's going on." Tara gave her a maternal smile, nodding at Leah.

"Mom, I swear, we'll talk about everything, I just really need to be somewhere right now." Leah said, pushing away the feeling of guilt. Tara nodded at her,

"Go, go, go do your thing." Tara waved at Leah, "Luckily, in a few weeks, I'll have another one who'll appreciate me." Tara rubbed her hands over her stomach and Leah rolled her eyes,

"I appreciate you, Mom. You know that." Leah rolled her lips in, looking down at her mom.

"I know, I'm just teasing." Tara waved at Leah again, "Go, get out of here." Leah gave her mom a small smile before turning away from her, heading into the living room.

She grabbed her backpack and board, glancing over her shoulder to see her mom looking back at the reports. Leah took in a breath before shaking her head, going for the front door. She walked out of her house, heading for Stiles's and knowing her mom was right. Leah didn't talk to her as much as she used to. Everything just happened so fast and Leah didn't have time to sit and talk to her, which was a problem and Leah knew she needed to start talking to her more. Maybe not tell her everything—her mom didn't need to know her best friend was a werewolf, but Leah knew she needed to tell her mom about the memory loss and about all the things happening with Stiles. Simple, ordinary teenage problems.

The sheriff's car was parked next to Stiles' Jeep when Leah got to the Stilinski house. She kicked back off of her board and walked up to the front door. Raising her hand, Leah knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds as her stomach began knotting up with each passing second, before the door opened to reveal Stiles standing there.

"Hey." Leah said, giving him a small smile.

"What's up?" Stiles asked, brow furrowing, obviously confused as to why Leah was on his doorstep. Leah peered into his house before looking back up at him.

"I need to talk to you." She said, swallowing back her fear. Stiles stared at her for a moment before nodding and stepping back, letting Leah step inside his house. Leah looked over to see the dining room light on and she heard his dad groan.

"Is everything okay?" Leah asked, looking back at Stiles.

"I may have gotten him drunk." Stiles said, scratching the back of his neck and squinting. Leah's eyes widened as she stared at him.

"Stiles!" Leah all about yelled out, "Are you serious? Why—why would you do that? He has to work tonight!"

"Because I needed to get him talking about the case, okay?" Stiles hissed out, waving his hands around. Leah rolled her eyes at him,

"Pregnant mothers work just as well." She whispered out. "God, Coleslaw…how much did you give him?"

"Almost a whole bottle of Jack."

"Stiles!" Leah made her eyes wide again and fell back on her foot, "Jesus."

"I know, I know. I messed up. But! But, I already texted your mom and told her about it. She said she would cover for him tonight." Leah looked at him, knowing that her mom was well aware of the sheriff's previous drinking habits. Tara was one of the few people who actually helped the sheriff stop his excessive drinking so Leah knew her mom wasn't going to be happy about what happened.

"Damnit, Stiles." Leah sighed, "You seriously fucked up." She shoved him back, "My mom is _not_ gonna be happy with him and it's your fault."

"We all screw up sometimes and she's _well aware_ of his track record." Stiles seriously said, jaw clicking as he thought back to the last time his dad had gotten that drunk, "And besides, it was a one time thing. It was only so I could get information about the case."

"Oh so that just _magically_ makes up for it?" Leah waved her hands around. Stiles licked his lips and looked away from her, stomping his foot a little. Leah paused and took in a breath, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at Stiles, "What did you find out?" She asked, knowing that his information would probably be the same information that Tara gave her. And she was right.

"So I think it was Peter who was the one scaring them out." Stiles finished.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Leah nodded a bit. She looked around herself before settling back on Stiles, "As happy as I am that we have a little bit of a lead, even though your methods were…" Leah raised her eyebrows, eyes going wide and letting out a sharp breath, before she composed herself, "that's not actually why I came here." She paused, "Can we go upstairs?"

"Uh, sure." Stiles nodded, his brow furrowing for a moment before he turned away from Leah and walked up the stairs. Leah followed behind, bag thumping against her thigh as she followed him into his room.

Parallel to the set up that Allison and Leah had, Stiles sat down on his bed, leaving a space for Leah to sit next to him. She gave him a small smile as she folded herself on his bed, one leg going under her other leg. Leah stared at her lap, not really knowing how to start; she couldn't just outright tell him, but had to ease herself into it.

"Is everything okay?" Stiles finally broke the silence.

"Uh, yeah." Leah said, looking over to him, brow furrowing, "Yeah, everything's fine. I just—give me a minute."

"Okay…?" Stiles looked a little confused before looking away from Leah.

Leah took in a breath and twisted her fingers together as her stomach worms started moving. She licked her lips and slowly let out the breath she had been holding in. Opening her mouth, Leah started to tell Stiles, when his phone chimed. Stiles pulled out his phone and Leah saw Scott's name on the screen. Stiles immediately answered it, placing it to his ear.

"Hey." He said. Scott said something causing Stiles to glance to Leah. Leah gave him a small smile before looking away from him, eyes trailing around his room as Stiles answered Scott, "Uh, yeah I'm actually—" She felt the bed move as Stiles got up, "No, fine. Fine!" Leah looked up at him as he ran a hand over his mouth, ending his call with Scott.

"Everything okay?" Leah asked.

"Uh, no, apparently Peter is taking Scott's mom out on a date." Stiles raised his eyebrows up. Leah got to her feet, surprised at what Stiles just said,

"That's not good."

"He needs me to stop them, I guess." Stiles said, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah, go." Leah nodded, concerned at the thought of Peter having Melissa in his clutches. Stiles looked at her,

"Do you wanna come? We could talk in the Jeep."

"No…no." Leah shook her head, making a face, "I should probably get going anyway."

"You sure?" Stiles asked, brow furrowing.

"Yeah, it's not important." Leah shook her head again, putting her hands up, "Go help Scott." Leah urged, "I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded at him. Stiles nodded back, patting himself down to make sure he had his phone and keys before turning away from Leah. He hurried out of the room, flannel flying out behind him. Leah let all of her weight fall onto her foot as she let out a sigh; so much for telling him about her crush.

Leah waited for a moment, looking around Stiles's room before walking out into the hall. She quietly went down the stairs, not wanting to startle the sheriff. But she wanted to make sure he was okay, so she went around the corner walking through the kitchen and looking into the dining room to see the sheriff propping himself up on his elbow, mumbling to himself. Swallowing, Leah went to turn out of the dining room and head out of the house, only to have the sheriff stop her,

"Hey there, Leah." The sheriff mumbled out, getting Leah's attention.

"Hey, sheriff." Leah softly responded, giving him a small smile, "Feeling okay?" The sheriff nodded, eyes fluttering shut for a moment before opening back up.

"Just had a little too much to drink." The sheriff pressed his finger to his mouth, "Don't tell Stiles."

"I won't, sir." Leah nodded at him, "Think you can get to the couch?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, "I think you'll be more comfortable there." The sheriff bobbed his head in a nod and slowly got up from the chair. Leah went over to the sheriff, putting her hands out to steady him and helping him stumble through the doorway of the dining hall, into the living room.

"There ya go." Leah said as the sheriff fell onto the couch, head hitting the pillow. Leah sighed at him before grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch,

"You know he cares about you." The sheriff mumbled as he tried to get comfortable, "That Lydia girl has nothing on you." He murmured as Leah unfolded the blanket, "He may not realize it, but he's been under your spell since day one." The sheriff raised a finger up, eyes fluttering shut. Leah felt her stomach worms return and she laid the blanket over the sheriff.

"Yeah, I wish that were true." Leah whispered to herself as the sheriff turned on his side,

"He'll figure it out eventually. Might just have to help him along." The sheriff mumbled, pulling the blanket up over him. Leah shook her head at the sheriff's drunken rambles, turning away and going back into the dining room.

She straightened out the file folders, discarding the empty bottle of Jack and the glass in the kitchen, exchanging it for a bottle of water. Setting the bottle of water on the coffee table, Leah glanced over to the sheriff to see that he was fast asleep. She shook her head and headed out of the living room, grabbing her bag from where she dropped it in the dining room and leaving the Stilinski house.

Leah hurried down the front walk, getting on her board as soon as she was on the street. Her stomach worms still hadn't gone away; she couldn't stop thinking about what the sheriff said. She hated that he said that to her because now it was the only thing she was going to think about. She shouldn't have gone over there, shouldn't have promised Allison that she would go over there, it was a mistake and just made Leah feel a lot worse.

Her phone rang as she got to her house and Scott's name came up on the screen. Leah quickly answered it, placing it to her ear, "Is your mom okay?"

" _Uh, yeah_." Scott sounded thrown off, " _Wait how did you know?"_

"I was with Stiles when you called him." Leah quickly explained, "We were talking about the murders, it doesn't matter. I'm glad she's okay."

" _Yeah but she's not the only one in danger."_ Scott sounded like he was running, " _I know you hate him, but I need your help. It's Jackson. Peter's going after Jackson."_

"To turn him?" Leah asked.

" _To kill him_." Scott seriously responded, " _I don't know where he is."_

"And how would I know where he is?" Leah shot back, feeling her temper flare. Again and again, Scott continued to care about someone who couldn't give two shits about him, "Maybe we should just let him die! If Jackson's dead, then you don't have to worry about him blabbing your secret to Argent!"

" _Leah! Please!"_ Scott cried out, " _If he dies, it's my fault!"_

"No, it's his _own_ fault!" Leah snapped back, "He got himself into this mess, Scott! You don't need to save him." She heard Scott let out a breath,

" _But I do."_ Scott seriously said. Leah felt her stomach knot up as she ran her fingers through her hair,

"Well, then you're a much better person than I am, Scott." Leah responded. She ended her call with Scott and let out a huff. She knew Scott was the type of person who wanted to save everyone, but part of her was beginning to get seriously fed up with his guilt complex. She couldn't understand why he just couldn't let Jackson die—one of their biggest problems would be solved with Jackson gone.

Glancing down at her wrists, Leah ran her thumb over her wrist, over the claw marks as Kate's voice echoed in her head _werewolves were the ones who did that to you_. Leah felt herself becoming angry; she was so done with werewolf drama. She didn't want to deal with it anymore—she wanted normal problems like telling her sworn enemy that she had a crush on him. Her life got completely turned upside down as soon as she agreed to go out into the woods that night with Scott and Stiles. Kate was right, she did want to be able to fight for herself—take her life back from the werewolves.

Looking up from her wrist, Leah turned her phone over in her hand, unlocking it and going to her contact list. She clicked on a name, placing the phone to her ear,

" _I knew you would call._ " Kate's voice came over the line, sounding pleased. _"And you have perfect timing. Where are you?"_ Leah looked up from her sneakers, tossing her hair back,

"I'm at my house."

" _Good. On my way."_ Kate hung up the phone and Leah set her board against the door.

She looked at the street, seeing that Allison's car was still parked on the side of the road. Moving her gaze, Leah saw that the light in Scott's room was on. She briefly wondered what kind of lie Scott had come up with to get himself out of the house, but also get Allison to stay. Leah felt a knot of guilt begin to form in her stomach as she realized she was just as bad as Scott—lying to Allison about what was happening. But Leah pushed away the feeling, reminding herself that she wasn't the werewolf, Scott was and it was his secret to tell her.

Kate's car pulled up a few moments later and Leah hurried down the walkway, looking both ways to make sure her brother wasn't around to stop her. She opened the passenger side door, sliding in and pulling her bag onto her lap as she shut the door. Kate gave her a satisfied smile as Leah's stomach turned,

"Glad you changed your mind." Kate nodded at her before pulling back out onto the road.

"You were right." Leah mumbled, looking down at her hands and trying not to give too much away. "I want to be able to survive." She looked up and over at Kate, "And you're the only one who wants to help me." She seriously said. Kate hummed in agreement,

"Well, luckily, you called at the right time." Kate glanced over her shoulder and Leah followed her gaze. In the backseat, there was a duffel bag that looked full of something causing Leah to look back at Kate, confusion written all over her face,

"We're gonna pay a little visit to an old friend." Kate gave her a wicked grin and Leah looked out the window, realizing they were headed towards the Hale house.

When Kate's car pulled up to the house, Leah saw that there were already two other cars parked, men with guns in their hands were standing at the ready. Leah slowly got out of the car as Kate went into the backseat, pulling out the duffel and placing it on top of the car. This wasn't what Leah had in mind when she called Kate; she thought that Kate was just going to take her somewhere to teach her how to fight, not to an attack on Derek's house.

"Are you gonna just storm in there SWAT style?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Kate let out a small laugh,

"We're just gonna say hello." Kate innocently said, unzipping the duffel and pulling out a shotgun and placing it next to the duffel bag before pulling out a crossbow and arrow. Leah watched her reach back into the bag, pulling out an arrowhead that looked exactly like the one Allison had shown Leah earlier in the day.

"I think I'm just gonna…wait over there." Leah motioned over to the side of the house, away from the car and the guns. She took a few steps away from Kate's car only to be stopped by her,

"Nonsense." Kate shook her head as she picked up the shotgun, "This was the type of gun you shot before, right?" Kate asked, walking around the back of the car to Leah. Leah swallowed and nodded, beginning to doubt her choices. Kate grinned at her and pumped the shotgun once before she handed it to Leah, making Leah drop her bag by her feet, "Safety's off." Leah carefully took it, eyeing Kate as she turned to the group.

"On my count." She seriously said as she screwed the arrowhead a top the arrow. Kate looked to Leah, motioning for her to get ready. Leah blinked before nodding and lifting the gun; even though she realized she didn't want to participate, she knew that if she didn't look the part, Kate would be suspicious.

As Leah watched Kate load up the crossbow, the feeling of guilt set in—this wasn't who she wanted to be, holding a gun pointing at her brother's best friend's house with a group of soulless werewolf hunters. She didn't want to be like Kate.

But before Leah could back out, Kate fired the arrow, letting it explode against the door. Then the rest of the men began firing their guns at the house, making Leah jump. Her finger pressed against the trigger and a shot fired out, the shotgun backfiring against her shoulder. Leah winced and quickly lowered the gun, clicking the safety back on and setting it down. As the hunters continually fired at the Hale house, Leah backed away, wanting to get away.

She turned and ran from the group of hunters, into the Preserve—not really knowing where she was going, but knowing she had to get away from the guns and hunters. Pausing, Leah fell back against a tree, taking in a few deep breaths. She looked around herself, hearing gunfire as the hunters overtook the Hale house.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone stumbling through the woods, making Leah go into defensive mode. She pushed off the tree and turned towards the noise, eyes scanning the forest as she tried to make out who or what was coming towards her. The person was staggering towards her, tripping over their own feet and Leah heard groans of pain.

Carefully, Leah stepped closer, and the person all about fell into her arms. She struggled as she tried to hold both herself and the person up, hands moving to feel a spot of wetness on their abdomen. Leah slowly fell to her knees, the weight was overbearing and she was trying to make it easier for herself. She moved her hands to the side of his face, pulling it up so she could look at him,

"Oh my God, Scott?" Leah whispered out, brow furrowing. He looked terrible, blood staining his lips and his breath was ragged. She carefully laid him down, letting him roll onto his back and getting her phone out to use the flashlight.

The flashlight lit up Scott's abdomen, showing that the wet spot Leah had felt was actually blood. There was a bullet hole sized rip in his shirt and Leah moved the flashlight over to see that he had been shot. Leah immediately put a hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding,

"Oh my God did I shoot you?" Leah's voice was hoarse as she began to panic. Scott sounded like he was gagging, his chest rising and falling rapidly, sweat coating his forehead, "No, no no. Why aren't you healing?" Leah asked aloud, beginning to freak out even more as she sat back on her knees, untying her flannel from around her waist.

Quickly, she pressed the material down on the wound, wanting to stop the bleeding. She moved to look at his face, seeing that his eyes were shut and his breath was slowing down, "No, Scott, oh my God, I'm so sorry." Leah moved her other hand to the side of his face, seeing that his eyes were closed, "I'm _so_ sorry." Her eyes began to water and she blinked, letting the tears roll down her face, "I didn't know you were here."

Leah looked around herself, realizing that the forest was quiet—there were no more gunshots, just the sound of Scott's slow, labored breathing.

"Hey, Scott," Leah looked back at Scott, patting his cheek, "Come on, Scott. Look at me." She moved his face. His eyes fluttered open, "Scotty, hey." Leah gave him a pained smile, "Hey, you're okay, you're okay."

"Allison." Scott managed out. Leah let out a pained laugh,

"No, I'm Leah." She rocked forward, hand on the side of his face, "I'm Leah, I'm your best friend." She sniffled, trying to smile as Scott's eyes fluttered shut again, "No, no, Scott, don't close your eyes." Leah swallowed, her back arching as she tried to listen to his heart, "Scott, wake up, come on!" Leah felt the knot in her stomach getting bigger; she had chosen to go to the dark side for a split second and it ended up in the worst possible way. She had just shot her best friend and he was bleeding out on the forest floor, "Come on!" Leah lifted her head back up to look at Scott, "Scott?" She whispered out after a moment, tears flowing freely. Leah took in a shaky breath and tried to calm herself down. She kept her hand against Scott's wound, hoping that he had just passed out as she moved her other hand into her pocket to pull out her phone.

After fumbling a bit with her phone, she finally got to Connor's contact name, pressing the call button and placing it to her ear. Connor picked up on the second ring and Leah didn't even wait for him to say hello,

"Connor! Connor, I need your help!" She desperately cried out, "It's—It's Scott!"

 _"What happened?"_ Connor asked, already sounding concerned.

"I shot him, oh my God, Connor, I shot Scott." Leah started crying again as she looked to Scott's face, "And he's not healing and I fucked up, I fucked up _so bad_ , Connor. I think I killed him!"

" _Calm down, Leah! Calm down!"_ Connor responded, hearing how worried Leah was, " _Where are you?"_

"By the Hale house." Leah sniffed, moving her hand under her nose before pressing it back onto Scott's wound. "I don't know how far out we are, I just—I just…I can't, I shot him, Connor." Leah whispered out, her guilt overtaking her.

" _We're coming, okay? Just…just send me your location._ " Leah nodded, even though Connor couldn't see her and pulled the phone away from her ear. She used one hand to share her location with Connor, seeing the red pin pop up. Leah looked down at Scott, feeling her phone slip from her hand.

"Please don't die, Scott." Leah begged, feeling hopeless.

Leah didn't know how much time had passed since she called her brother, but at the sound of footsteps crunching against the leaves, she looked over, seeing two figures approach them, "It's us." Connor called out, letting Leah relax slightly. She noticed another person with him and when they got closer, she realized it was Deaton. Leah didn't comment as the pair got to them.

Deaton got to Scott first, crouching down and examining the bullet wound. Leah noticed purple smoke coming from the wound and she felt her brow furrow; that wasn't there before. But Deaton didn't seem put off by it, picking up Scott in his arms. Leah stayed where she was, letting Connor come and crouch by her as she stared her hand, which was stained with Scott's blood,

"What happened?" Connor asked, peering at his sister carefully.

"I… _shot_ my _best friend_." Leah softly said, eyebrows raising. Connor let out a small sigh as Leah stared at her hand with wide, bloodshot eyes, "I didn't know he was there." She continued, "I wouldn't have gone with her if I known he was there." She felt a sob bubble up and Leah took in a deep breath to keep it down.

"Go with who?" Connor quietly asked, shifting his stance a bit. Leah looked over at him, licking her lips as another tear rolled down her cheek,

"Kate." Leah managed out, "I was here with Kate." She miserably said. Connor's features hardened and he rolled his lips in, swallowing before looking away from Leah.

"Connor." Deaton got the siblings' attention, and he nodded towards where the two had come. Connor pushed out of his crouch and looked down at Leah. Leah was looking back out to the woods, feeling like she was the worst person in the entire world.

After a moment of self pity, Leah got to her feet, following after the group. She got into the backseat, helping Deaton get Scott in safely. His head was in her lap and Leah couldn't help but run her fingers through his hair as Connor drove. Scott drifted in and out of consciousness, not saying much or mumbling nonsense. Leah was quiet the whole drive, the night playing out in her head as she wished she could travel back in time to stop herself.

Connor pulled up to the front of the animal clinic, making Leah's brow furrow as the men got out of the car. But she helped Connor get Scott out of the car, letting him carry her best friend into the clinic. Connor carefully set him on a table in the examination room while Leah stood above him. She reached for Scott's hand, holding it gently as Deaton began to take care of him. He cut Scott's shirt off in order to get to the wound and Leah felt her stomach roll as she saw how much worse the wound looked under the light. She watched Deaton push a needle full of some sort of liquid into Scott's arm before taking out the bullet, dropping it into a metal bowl. Connor went over to look at it and glanced up at Leah,

"What did you say you shot him with?" Connor asked,

"A shotgun." Leah managed out. Connor's brow furrowed as he looked back into the bowl, taking the bullet out and holding it up to the light,

"This didn't come from a shotgun. It looks like it's probably from an automatic gun, not a single shot." Connor looked over at Leah, "You didn't shoot him." Connor motioned to her. Leah let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding as she felt a wave of relief crash over her.

Suddenly, Scott took in a deep breath, getting everyone's attention. Leah looked back at him to see Deaton gently pressing a hand against his shoulder, making him lay back, "It's alright." Deaton calmly said. Scott's eyes searched the ceiling as he let out a cough, almost like he was coming back to life, "I wouldn't get up just yet." Deaton warned.

"Where am I?" Scott managed out, looking around the room.

"You're okay." Leah assured him, squeezing his hand and getting him to look at her, "You're okay." She gave him a small smile as Scott gave her a confused look,

"I've given you something that should speed up the healing process." Deaton said, getting Scott to look down at where Deaton was dabbing up the blood. His brow furrowed and he blinked slowly, trying to put all the pieces together,

"But you're a vet." Scott's voice was rough as he looked back at Deaton. Leah looked at Deaton; she had been wondering the same thing,

"That's very true." Deaton nodded, pulling back from Scott's abdomen and discarding the cotton ball he had been using, "And ninety percent of the time I'm mostly treating cats and dogs." Deaton explained, getting a confused look from both Scott and Leah,

"Mostly?" Scott asked back.

"Mostly." Deaton nodded as he placed a bandage on Scott's wound before giving him a small smile. He stepped back from the table and Leah stepped up to Scott's line of vision, not wanting him to strain himself,

"I'm so sorry." Leah managed out,

"Why are you here?" Scott asked, brow furrowing again. Leah knew he was so out of it and so confused—it would probably take him a second to remember everything that had happened,

"I'll explain in the morning." Leah said, squeezing his hand gently, "I'm just really glad you're okay." She felt her eyes water up again as she nodded at him. Scott gave her a small, reassuring smile as he passed out again. Leah sniffled and wiped at her eyes before looking over to where Connor was waiting for her, hands on his hips,

"We need to talk." Connor seriously said, voice low and rough as he raised his chin up a bit. He wasn't angry at his sister, but he did feel a bit disappointed that she felt she had to go to Kate instead of coming to him directly. He was, however, extremely angry at Kate for tricking Leah and taking advantage of her, but he would deal with her later.

Leah nodded, rolling her lips in, the feeling of guilt returning. She took one last look at Scott before letting go of his hand and walking through the door her brother held open for her, leaving Scott behind.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	26. Glad You Came to Your Senses

Tara sipped at her water as she listened to the rain beat down against the squad car. She was filling in for the sheriff after a text from Stiles got her attention; Stiles had told her that Noah had been drinking, so much so that he wouldn't be able to get into work. Tara had asked Stiles if he needed help, knowing what Noah was like after a few too many drinks, but Stiles responded that he had it under control. So Tara agreed to cover for Stiles's dad, leaving Stiles with a reminder that she was there if he needed anything.

It had been years since Noah had drank to the point of having to miss a shift. He had gotten help, with some guidance from Tara and Drew, and was seemingly better. But apparently the stress of the Hale case had gotten to him, turning him back to the bottle. Or at least that's what Tara was led to believe.

Her speed gun started beeping, getting Tara's attention. She looked down to see that the numbers read that the driver was going seventy-five in a twenty-five miles per hour construction zone. Tara took in a breath and shifted the squad car into drive, pulling out from where she had been parked and onto the street, trailing behind the car for a moment before flipping her lights on.

The car slowed, pulling over onto the side of the road and Tara rolled up behind it. She got out of the squad car, one hand on her holster and the other clicking on her flashlight. Rain pattered down around her as Tara got to the car. She knocked on the window with her flashlight, getting the driver to roll down the window, the flashlight making her wince and look away. Tara's brow furrowed as she recognized the girl.

"Allison?" Tara asked, leaning down a bit to get a good look at the girl who was in her house earlier in the evening. "It's Allison, right?"

"Uh, yes. Yes." Allison responded, nodding. She looked tense and a little nervous and Tara couldn't help but feel for her. She moved the flashlight away from Allison's face but kept it angled so they could see each other,

"I'm Leah's mom." Tara gave her a warm smile, "I don't think we've ever been properly introduced." Allison's eyes darted up to Tara before she quickly looked away,

"I'm not making a very good first impression, am I?" Allison quietly asked, getting a small laugh from Tara.

"Well, you could do worse." Tara sighed out. Allison let out a sad laugh and Tara saw a tear roll down her cheek, "Is everything okay?" Tara asked, becoming concerned. Allison nodded quickly,

"Sorry I was going so fast, I didn't realize I—I—" Allison's lower lip started to tremble and she dissolved into small whimpers.

"Okay, all right." Tara tried to calm Allison down, leaning forward so she could be eye to eye with Leah's friend, "Listen, you weren't going that fast. Just seventy-five in a twenty-five…in a construction zone." Tara ended, raising her eyebrows a little. Allison looked at her, shaking her head as she tried to pull herself together,

"I'm not crying to get out of the ticket. I just, um, I don't want you to think I'm like this." Allison said, looking back at Tara, obviously embarrassed.

"No, it's okay, perfectly okay." Tara put her hands up as she tried to diffuse the situation,

"No, please, write me a ticket." Allison begged, hands running over the steering wheel, "I need you to write me a ticket, okay?"

"Okay." Tara nodded, "I don't see how that's gonna really make you feel a lot better." Allison dropped her head back against the headrest, letting out a small laugh,

"This is so humiliating." She groaned before looking back at Tara, "I swear I'm not like this." Allison said, getting another nod from Tara,

"I understand."

"This isn't me." Allison shook her head, "This is—This is—This is not me!" Allison quickly sputtered out, hand slamming against the steering wheel before looking out the windshield, features hardening, "This is not me." She seriously said. Tara pulled down the corners of her mouth and nodded,

"Okay." She got Allison to look back at her with an embarrassed smile,

"I'm okay." She cleared her throat as Tara studied her,

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Allison nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears, "I'm okay. I'm okay." She bobbed her head looking over to Tara,

"Do I still have to write you a ticket?" Tara asked, raising her eyebrows. Allison let out a small laugh and ran her hands over the steering wheel. Tara gave her a small smile, "How bout, I let you off with a warning, okay?" Allison looked over at her, "You seem to be having a little bit of a rough night." Tara gave her a sympathetic smile, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, thank you." Allison shook her head, "I'm really sorry about all of this." Allison apologized, taking in a deep breath. Tara nodded,

"It's okay." She gave Leah's friend a warm smile, "Just get home safe, okay?" Allison nodded at her and Tara stepped back from the car, "Be careful pulling out. People aren't always aware of what's going on." Allison nodded again and gave Tara a small smile,

"Thank you." Allison said, "And can you please not tell Leah about this?"

"Of course." Tara gave her a smile, "It's just between you and me." Allison nodded, a grateful smile on her face before rolling up the window.

* * *

The bell above the door chimed as Leah walked into the vet clinic. She glanced up at the bell before looking back and seeing Deaton peering out from the examination room. He gave her a warm smile and she responded with a small wave.

"Uh, I just wanted to come and check on Scott." Leah explained as Deaton stepped out, "I brought him food. And a clean shirt." She added on, lifting the brown paper bag and the shirt she had stolen from his dresser.

"Don't you have school?" Deaton asked, settling back.

"I can skip." Leah shrugged, "One day isn't going to kill my three point eight G-P-A." Leah took in a breath, "So? Can I see him?"

"Come on back." Deaton nodded and Leah gave him a small smile. She walked through the gate and went into the examination room. Scott was still on the the table, a blanket over his chest, fast asleep.

"Is he—"

"He's fine." Deaton assured her, "He should be awake soon." Leah nodded at him, not looking away from Scott as her feeling of guilt came back. She set the bag on the counter, sitting carefully on the stool.

After leaving Scott in the examination room the night before, Connor and Leah ended up talking in the waiting room. Leah told Connor all about what had happened and how she ended up in the Preserve. She admitted that she was wrong, telling Connor about how Kate had confronted her, getting information out of her about Derek and the Alpha—but Leah was quick to tell him that she didn't give anything serious up. Just saying that Derek knew who the Alpha was, which Connor wasn't very happy about, but both of them figured that's why Kate stormed the Hale house. She continued with how Kate seemed like the only option at the time, but when Kate took her to the Hale house, Leah quickly realized she was on the wrong side.

Connor was obviously disappointed in her, asking her why she didn't just come to him for help. Leah explained that at the time, she just thought that Kate was her only option—since Connor had barely been around and barely gave her any advice. Connor was left feeling a little guilty; he hadn't really helped Leah deal with the werewolf drama, just assumed she was okay since she said she was. He should've known better, and he promised Leah that he would be there, making her promise to ask him for help before making any rash decisions.

Both of the siblings realized that they needed to start communicating better—both of them were so used to keeping secrets from each other that it had become natural. It was going to be a bit of a journey, but in the end, they knew they could trust each other.

Scott suddenly woke up, taking in a deep breath as he quickly sat up. He startled Leah, making her almost lose her balance on the stool, rolling backwards a bit before she caught herself on the corner of the counter,

"Welcome back to the land of the conscious." Deaton calmly said, turning as Scott started to get off of the table. Leah got off the stool, putting her hands out to help steady Scott,

"You okay?" Leah asked, looking up at him as her hands were pressed against his bare back and chest, keeping him upright. Scott looked down at her and nodded, getting a small smile from Leah, "Maybe you should sit down, huh?" Leah went to go help Scott over to the stool when the three of them heard the doorbell jingle.

"Hello?" Deaton called out as Leah and Scott looked to the entrance. There was no response and Deaton went to walk to the front when Scott stopped him, looking concerned. Deaton gave him a reassuring smile before walking out of the examination room.

"Who is it?" Leah whispered as Scott continued to stare at the doorway that led to the front of the office.

"Peter." Scott whispered out, putting his arm out in front of Leah. Leah wasn't sure if he meant to stop her from going out there or to protect her from Peter.

Scott began to inch backward, stepping out of Leah's arms and grabbing her hand. He pulled her back with him to the corner of the examination room. Scott stepped in front of her as they continued to walk back, Leah stopping when she hit the wall. She slowly slid down, Scott falling into a crouch in front of her. Peering around Scott's shoulder, Leah tried to figure out what was going on in between Peter and Deaton, but she couldn't hear anything. She glanced at Scott to see that he was listening intently, slowly tensing up at whatever was going on.

Then they heard something smash against the wall and Leah jumped as a reaction. Scott gripped her hand a bit tighter, reminding her that he was there. Leah shook her head and got to her feet, pulling her hand out of Scott's grasp. She pushed to her feet and went to step around Scott so she could go to confront Peter. Leah wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do, but she couldn't sit and wait like a duck.

But before she could do anything, Scott put his arm out, stopping her from going anywhere, "Allison." He said, voice full of worry. Leah's brow furrowed and she looked down at Scott, following him with her eyes as he stood up from his crouch,

"What about Allison?" Leah asked.

"He's going after Allison." Scott turned to her, eyes wide with fear.

"Right now?" Leah asked, pointing down as Scott swallowed and shook his head.

"I—I don't know." Leah stepped around Scott, going over to the stool, arms crossing over her chest as she looked around the examination room,

"Have you seen my bag?" Leah asked, spinning around to look at him. Scott gave her a confused look, "Right, unconscious." Leah turned back to the chair, realizing that her bag wasn't in the room. She thought she had left it there, but then it dawned on her—she dropped it while she was at the Hale house.

Leah spotted her phone on the counter across the room and let out a small sigh of relief. She stepped over to it, picking it up and seeing that she had a few missed texts. Ignoring them, Leah unlocked her phone, walking back over to Scott,

"Okay, I'll call her." Leah said, making a face, "I'll call her and we'll see if she's okay."

"I have to protect her." Scott said.

"I know." Leah nodded, giving him a small smile before looking down at her phone. She pulled up her contact list and tapped on Allison's name, pressing the call button and holding it to her ear.

 _"Hey!"_

"Allison!" Leah cried out before hearing, _"I'm not here right now, but leave a message—"_

"Ah damnit." Leah cursed to herself, kicking out her foot. She sighed and waited for the beep before she starting speaking "Hey, it's me. Uhm, just call me when you can." Leah settled on, not wanting to get into any specific details. She glanced at Scott before ending the call.

"You know what?" She asked Scott as he pulled on his shirt, "She's probably at school. I'll head over there, make sure she's okay, I'll text you." Leah laid out her plan.

"I should come with you, don't you think?" Scott asked. Leah gave him a small smile,

"Scott, you were shot at last night and I'm like eighty-eight percent you died for a second." Leah scoffed, "I think you need to just rest." She said, hands out in front of her.

"Leah's right." Deaton said, stepping up next to her. Leah glanced over to him and raised her eyebrows, pointing at the vet.

"Yeah and he's a doctor so…" Leah shrugged. Scott sighed and gave in, nodding a bit. "Come on, I'll walk home with you." Leah nodded towards the door.

"Thank you." Scott nodded as Deaton gave him a small smile back.

Leah led Scott out of the vet's clinic, handing over the paper bag with Scott's breakfast sandwich in it. She picked up her board from where she had set it outside, carrying it so she could walk with Scott,

"So…" Leah started,

"So." Scott responded, letting out a sigh. Leah looked up at him, not knowing if she should talk first or if Scott was going to. Scott looked back down at her, looking somewhat grim, "I remembered what happened last night." He settled on, "Why?" Was all he asked, making Leah's stomach knot up,

"I wish I could give you a simple answer." Leah responded, looking away from Scott and laughing a little, "I think I was just…I needed a reminder that I chose the right side." She admitted, "I was feeling kind of…I don't know…" Leah blew out a breath, head tipping back, "Jealous isn't the right word, but maybe annoyed? About everything." She shrugged, "About how this werewolf stuff wasn't just affecting me now, but has been for such a long time—something that I never asked for."

"I didn't ask for it either." Scott reminded her.

"I know." Leah seriously said, looking back at him, "I know. And I never wanted to hurt you, I wasn't thinking clearly and Kate just seemed so—I was being selfish and thinking about myself and—then when I—I thought I shot you and I just—" Leah stopped herself, tears springing up, "God, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had hurt you like that." She admitted, wiping at her eyes to stop the tears, "I know you wouldn't hurt anyone and I didn't want to hurt anyone!" Leah looked at Scott, feeling desperate again; she knew Scott's feelings about unnecessary violence,

"I made such a huge mistake, getting into that car." Leah shook her head, "I'm sorry, Scott. And I totally understand if you can't or _won't_ forgive me. I don't deserve it." Scott nodded at her, looking serious, "Scott, I—" Leah stopped herself from continuing to grovel, looking away from him and taking in a breath, "I'm sorry for saying those things last night, on the phone. I think it's admirable." She raised her shoulders up, "That you want to protect everyone." She clarified, "But I meant it when I said you're a much better person than I am. Because you are." Scott licked his lips and nodded, looking away Leah's small smile for a moment.

"It's okay." Scott nodded, brow furrowing a bit, "I know what it feels like to be manipulated." Scott was referring to Peter and what happened in when they were trapped in the school. "And I know you do feel bad." Scott glanced at her to see a small smirk on her face and she rolled her eyes,

 _"Werewolves."_ She groaned. Scott gave her a small smile as Leah looked back up at him, "But seriously, Scott, you're my best friend. It won't happen again, I swear. I'm on your side." Scott nodded at her, looking away from her for a moment,

"Just so you know," Scott started, "I think you're a good person." Leah let out a scoff, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, right." She dismissed Scott's opinion.

"Well, you stayed with me—saved me, probably." Scott clarified, "I don't know think Kate would've done that." Leah looked at him when he mentioned Kate's name. Her brow furrowed and she looked at Scott, "I heard your conversation with Connor last night." Scott explained. Leah took in a breath and looked away from him, "You're _not_ her, okay?" Scott said, trying to catch Leah's eye. Leah shook her head, "I've known you practically all my life, Leah. You care, deep down and yeah, maybe only about a few people, but…" Leah rolled her eyes at him, and Scott gave her a small smile, "All I'm saying is that you're not like her, no matter what she says." Leah took in a breath and let it out slowly, looking back at Scott,

"Thanks, Scott." Leah gave him an embarrassed smile, before looking up at his house, "I'm gonna head to school." She looked back at him, "And I promise to text you as soon as I see Allison." Leah changed the subject, no longer wanting to talk about what happened the night before. Scott realized it and went with it, knowing she was getting uncomfortable talking about her past decisions. He nodded at her,

"I'm gotta find my phone." He said, "I think I left it in my bedroom."

"I'll call the house phone then." Leah promised him, "Get some rest, okay?" Scott nodded back at her and Leah went to hug him only to stop herself.

Scott noticed and he stepped up to her, bringing her into a comforting hug. Her hands went around his waist as his arms went around her neck. He felt her relax into his hug and he smiled to himself; Leah wasn't a bad person—she had just made a bad decision and it was clear that she felt horrible about it.

Leah stepped back first and gave Scott a small smile, "I will see you after school." Scott nodded at her, watching her turn and walk away from him, placing her longboard down and stepping on it, rolling down the street.

Knowing the front doors of the school were locked, Leah went to the side of the building where the fire escape was. She stashed her board in the bushes and jumped up, grabbing onto the handles of the ladder and yanking it down with her. She climbed up onto the ladder, going up and around the fire escape. It led to the roof which had a door to the chemistry lab and if Leah could time it, she could slip in right as the bell rang, no one noticing that she had come in.

She got to the door, yanking it open as she heard the bell start to ring. Leah quickly went into the door, pushing open the second door to the chemistry lab. When she opened the door, students were all rushing to get to their next class and Leah quietly slipped into the masses, following the students out into the hall. She looked up at the clock, figuring out that her free period with Allison was the next period.

Heading for the library, Leah kept an eye out for Allison or Stiles, just in case she saw one before the other. She didn't see either of them as she walked to the library, but once she pulled the door to the library open, she spotted Allison setting her bag down on one of the tables. Leah let out a sigh of relief and she went to turn away, wanting to call Scott before getting caught up in a conversation with Allison, but she instead, she found herself standing in front of Finstock, who did _not_ look happy.

"My office. Now." Finstock seriously said, arms crossed over his chest. Leah took in a breath and followed him out of the library.

"Wanna tell me why Greenberg saw you sneak into the chemistry lab from the roof?" Finstock asked as the two of them got to his office,

"God, Greenberg is such a fucking snitch." Leah groaned, arms crossing over her chest as she fell into one of the chairs across from Finstock's desk,

"Oh I know." Finstock laughed out, "But he's also an ass-kisser, so." Finstock pointed at her, "Better me than the vice principal, right?"

"Yeah." Leah sighed out. She paused before leaning forward, elbows planted on her thighs, "So? What's my charge?"

"You've been seriously _lacking_ these past few days." Finstock pointed at her, "I mean I give you first line back and you don't show up to the game? You haven't been focused at practices, you're falling asleep in my class…and now you're sneaking into school?"

"Okay, first off, I've been sleeping in your class since day one." Leah pointed out, "Secondly, it's just—" Leah paused, trying to think of an excuse, "I been having…confidence issues." Leah settled on. Finstock outright laughed at Leah's excuse,

"You? Confidence issues?" Finstock laughed, " _Please._ "

"Fine! Fine, fine…" Leah blew out a breath, "The truth is, I just…psyched myself out." Leah sighed, "You know, my brother was there and he's always telling me about all the goals he scored and all about how great he was…I just thought I couldn't live up to him." Leah settled on, realizing it was sort of true. Maybe not with lacrosse, but she felt that Connor had handled the werewolf situation better than Leah had been.

"But you played that first night and he was there and you were great!" Finstock sputtered out, leaning forward.

"Because I didn't have anything to lose. I wasn't _actually_ on first line." Leah admitted. Finstock studied her for a moment before shifting in his chair,

"Listen, Kane." He started, "Great men are not born great, they _grow_ great." Leah sat back in her seat and made a face as she thought about what her coach just said.

"Did you just quote a movie at me and pass it off as some sort of pep talk?" Leah asked, tilting her head,

"Goddamn right I did." Finstock raised his eyebrows, " _Godfather_ , one of the best movies ever made. Besides _Independence Day."_ Leah made a face, but didn't respond, "Point is, you aren't your brother, Kane. You play how you play, don't worry about what he did or try to live up to him." Finstock scoffed, waving his hand around. Leah nodded,

"Okay, yeah, totally." She made a face, "Can I go now?" Finstock motioned at her, indicating for her to get out of his office. Leah pushed out of her chair and went back out into the hall. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and went into the girls' bathroom. Finding the number for Scott's house phone, Leah pressed the call button and put her phone to her ear, hearing it ring.

" _Hello?"_ Scott's voice came over the line,

"Hey, it's me." Leah responded, "I saw her, she's fine. I'll stick by her for the rest of the day." She quickly said, hearing Scott let out a sigh of relief.

" _Thanks._ "

"Yeah, of course." Leah felt her brow furrow, "I'll talk to you later." She ended the call, stepping out of the bathroom.

Sticking by Allison for the day was the least Leah could do; she still felt insanely guilty for her decisions the night before. So she was trying to make all the right choices, doing what she believed Scott would do, which meant protecting pretty much everyone. But Leah wasn't ready to start protecting people like Jackson. Baby steps.

The final bell rang, signaling the end of classes and letting Leah fall into step with Allison as they walked towards her locker. Leah still hadn't found her bag and was stuck borrowing pieces of paper from various classmates, walking around with a stack of notebook paper that would need to be organized when she got home.

"Is everything okay?" Leah asked as she walked beside Allison. Even though she had spent practically the whole day with her friend, Allison seemed unusually quiet. Allison looked at her and gave her a relieved smile,

"Yeah, totally." She scrunched up her features and shook her head.

"Did you ever get a chance to talk to Scott?" Leah innocently asked, shifting her grip on her notes. Allison paused for a moment before shaking her head,

"No, apparently there was some sort of car accident." Allison started, looking back at Leah, "Stiles told me about it this morning when I asked."

"Oh, right, yeah." Leah played along, "Well, I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to talk to him."

"I'm guessing you didn't get a chance to talk to Stiles either." Allison assumed and Leah nodded, letting out a breath,

"Nope." She sighed as Allison spun the combination on her locker, "But I mean, it's for the best." Allison eyed her, giving her a _yeah right_ look. Leah shook her head and moved on from the topic of boys, "Did you talk to your family? About the arrowhead you found?" She curiously asked, wondering if Kate had told Allison about her family secret. Allison paused, but Leah didn't catch it,

"Uh, yeah." Allison cleared her throat, getting Leah to look back at her, "You were right. Apparently with all the animal attacks, the need for bows and arrows in this town has sky-rocketed." Allison made her eyes wide and Leah made a face and nodded,

"Makes sense." Leah played along, not realizing that Allison was playing the same game.

"Hey, what happened to your shoulder?" Allison curiously asked as she shut her locker door. Leah looked over to where there was a blossoming bruise from the kickback of the shotgun forming on her shoulder,

"Oh, uhm, I don't know." She lied, looking back at Allison. Leah made a face and shrugged, "One of those ghost bruises probably."

"Hate those." Allison agreed, nodding and turning to walk out of the school, "Lydia and I are going dress shopping tomorrow after school for the formal, since we didn't go yesterday." Allison changed the subject, a grin on her face, "Have you decided if you're going with Kyle?"

"Uh, no, I haven't." Leah rolled her eyes, "I told you, I don't want to go." Allison heaved a sigh and look away from Leah,

"It'd be a lot of fun." Allison sang out, trying to get Leah to agree to go. Leah shook her head, letting out a little laugh,

"Tempting, but no." Leah settled on, giving a pointed look to Allison. Allison slumped down and pouted at Leah, getting her to roll her eyes, "Don't give me that puppy dog look, I get enough of that from Scott." Leah laughed out as the two got outside,

"Okay, okay." Allison put her hands up, giving up, "I get it. You're too cool for school."

"No, just…too cool for dances." Leah rolled her eyes up as Allison scoffed.

" _Okay_." Allison made her voice deeper as she moved her head back. Leah tried not to smile at her as she looked around,

"God, fuck it." Leah sighed, "I'll go dress shopping with you and Lydia." Leah droned out, giving in. Allison lit up in response, grinning at her friend. Leah figured it'd be one, nice normal and ordinary night that she could try to forget about werewolves while also keeping an eye on Allison for Scott. "I'm still not going to the dance." Allison gave her a knowing grin,

"We'll see about that." Allison said, turning away from her, "I'll see you tomorrow!" Allison's excitement was infectious and Leah couldn't help but smile at her friend as she bounced away, heading to her car.

As Leah got to her house, she saw Stiles was coming out of Scott's house. He gave her a two finger wave as she stepped off her board, waiting at the end of the walk for him.

"Hey." She greeted him as he spun his keys around his finger, "Everything okay?" She nodded to Scott's house.

"Uh, I guess. He's like tearing the house apart looking for his phone." Leah grimaced, knowing full well that Scott couldn't afford to replace his phone; he had already replaced it once. "He told me about the fun little adventure you two had."

"Trust me, it was the furthest thing from fun." Leah grumbled, thinking back to that night once again. She paused for a moment before looking up at Stiles, "I think I might know where his phone could be." Stiles raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer, "The Hale house." She clarified, "I mean, I was gonna head out there anyway because I left my bag out there and my taser is in there…" Leah rambled, reaching up to scratch her head,

"Well, what's a girl without her taser, right?" Stiles asked, giving her a hint of a half-smile. Leah rolled her eyes at him as she tried not to smile, "Come on, I'll drive." Leah sighed, realizing she had unintentionally invited Stiles along, "We can talk about whatever it was you wanted to talk about last night." He added as he walked past her and to his Jeep,

"Uh, what?" Leah asked, following him. She walked around the front of his Jeep, getting into the passenger side,

"You came over last night, said you wanted to talk," Stiles started explaining as he started the Jeep up, "Yelled at me about getting my dad drunk—"

"You got your dad drunk?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh, yes." Stiles pushed his chin out before pausing for a moment and then looking over at her, "And you yelled at me about how it was a stupid idea." Stiles explained, not realizing that Leah seriously didn't remember the conversation the two of them had.

"Well, yeah, it was." Leah gave him a wide eyed look, "Your dad's been fine for like five years now. That was a really fucked up thing to do."

"I _know_ , we've had this conversation before." Stiles was getting annoyed at Leah, "Last night." He reminded her, trying to get her to give up the act. Leah stared at him, trying to think back to when she talked to Stiles last. She licked her lips, pausing as nothing came back to her—she only remembered being at her house and yelling at Scott about Jackson before calling Kate.

"Right, yeah." Leah played along, brow furrowing, "Sorry, last night's kind of all jumbled up." Stiles glanced at her and nodded,

"Well, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Stiles asked, turning the wheel. Leah looked away from him, and made a face,

"Nothing." She shrugged, "Uh, what did Scott tell you about last night?" Stiles quickly glanced at Leah before looking back at the road,

"Uh, just a quick summary." He raised his eyebrows up, going along with Leah's subject change, "Derek apparently walked into gunfire." Leah raised her eyebrows, and leaned forward, not knowing that, "Scott talked to your brother, who thinks he's still alive—that the Argents just kidnapped him and are going to try to get him to give up the Alpha." Leah sat back in her seat, nodding to herself as she realized Kate had taken what Leah had told her in the car the other day and used it,

"So I'm guessing—"

"Scott wants to find and save him." Stiles finished with a sigh, "I don't get it either." He rolled his eyes, "I mean last night, the guy was gonna kill him."

"Technically he was gonna kill Jackson." Leah pointed out.

"Scott thinks he wasn't gonna kill either of em." Stiles explained. Leah sighed and looked out the window as Stiles went off road, going into the Preserve.

Once Stiles parked a little ways away from the Hale house, Leah pushed out of the Jeep, hearing the leaves crunch under her feet. She stared up at the house, letting out a slow breath. Stiles walked up next to her and the two of them exchanged a glanced before starting forward. Leah spotted her bag a little ways away and went to grab it, slinging it over her shoulder and wincing slightly as it hit the bruise.

"He also told me you were here last night." Stiles offhandedly said as he caught up with Leah, "That you were here with the Argents."

"Yeah." Leah sighed, "Not my proudest moment that's for sure." She looked away from Stiles, feeling the guilt return, "I don't know, I just—Kate said some stuff to me and I got caught up in it all and—and then when I realized what was happening, it was too late." Leah looked back at Stiles to see him studying her carefully, "All my life, werewolves have royally fucked me over and I guess the part of me that wants to get rid of them just took over last night." Stiles nodded slightly, hands on his hips as he looked at her,

"Getting rid of werewolves includes getting rid of your best friend." Stiles reminded her.

"Well aware of that, thank you." Leah sighed out, looking away from him. Stiles took in a breath and motioned to her,

"I mean, I get it." Leah glanced back at him, "If I was in your position and Kate gave me the option to get rid of those who hurt me…" Stiles quickly raised his eyebrows, indicating that he would do the same. For as much as the two denied it, they were practically the same person—sacrificing others to save themselves, only caring about a few people, choosing violence over peaceful confrontation and not having that _protect all_ vibe that Scott did,

"We all screw up. I'm not judging." Stiles settled on, raising his hands up, "Just glad you came to your senses." Leah nodded at him and then looked away,

"Let's just find his phone and get the fuck out of here." Stiles nodded and followed Leah into the house.

Inside the house, Leah and Stiles split up, each taking a different side of the house. Leah walked through, noticing the bullet holes that decorated the walls and floors. She glanced around, trying to find Scott's phone, but it was nowhere to be found.

"It's not here." Stiles said, as the two met back up in the front hall.

"Then he must've actually lost it in the woods." Leah sighed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Or maybe Derek took it." Stiles glanced at Leah, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Why would he want Scott's phone?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. Stiles set his mouth and looked around the house, trying to put the pieces together,

"I don't know." His mouth screwed to the side as he paused for a moment, "Come on, let's get out of here. This place creeps me out." Leah nodded in agreement, following Stiles back out of the house.

The two began walking back to Stiles's Jeep, the leaves crunching under their feet as they went. Both of them were quiet, lost in their own thoughts for a moment, trying to figure out their next move or thinking about what they had done before.

"What are you up to for the rest of the day?" Leah asked, trying to make conversation so she wouldn't keep thinking about the night before.

"Uh, nothing," Stiles pulled out his phone, "I mean tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet Allison and Lydia at the mall." He checked the time before grinning at Leah, "I'm going to formal with Lydia."

"I know." Leah raised her eyebrows at him, getting him to give her a confused look, "I kind of set it up." She said, moving her shoulders around as she tilted her head side to side, looking proud of herself. Stiles's eyebrows raised as he looked at her,

"Seriously?" He grinned at her, surprise written all over his face, "When—How—Why?" He asked, brow furrowing,

"Well, I mean, technically Allison is putting it together, but I suggested it. It's the least I could do considering I caught her making out with Scott and then not telling you." Leah shrugged, rolling her eyes upward. Stiles gave her a disbelieving laugh,

"Oh my God." Stiles looked away from Leah, rubbing a hand over his mouth, "You did that?"

"Yeah, why is that so hard to believe?" Leah raised her shoulders up. Stiles looked back at her with a grateful smile on his face. Leah chose not to tell him it was only happening because Allison wanted to get back at Lydia for making out with Scott; Stiles didn't have to know the dirty details.

"Thank you, Leah. Seriously, you just…"

"Helped your five year plan along?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows and giving him a knowing grin. Stiles rolled his eyes as Leah looked away from him, smile falling off of her face as she felt her stomach worms start rolling around. She suddenly remembered what she wanted to talk to Stiles about the night before, but he had ran out on her before she said anything.

Then, Leah's foot hit a fallen log that she hadn't seen and she went tripping over herself, heading for the ground. But before she made contact, she felt Stiles try and catch her, fumbling a bit with his balance and ultimately falling on top of her, sending them both to the ground.

Leah let out a groan as she felt all of Stiles's body weight on her, Stiles matching her groan. He pressed his hand against her shoulder, getting a pained gasp from Leah and he quickly tried to rectify the situation. She rolled her head so she was looking straight up, seeing Stiles push off of her, moving his hands to either side of her head, propping himself up.

"You okay?" He breathed out, hovering above her. The two of them stared at each other for a moment and Leah felt her stomach worms begin to move around once again. She nodded slightly, licking her lips as Stiles reached over to brush a leaf out of her hair.

Leah blinked, pulling herself together and she placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him off of her and making him roll over onto his back. She blew out a breath as Stiles coughed, hand falling against his chest.

"Walk much?" Stiles managed out, getting a scoff from Leah. "God, being friends with you is dangerous." Leah turned her head to look at him, eyebrows raising,

"Friends, huh?" Leah asked, pushing herself onto her elbows to look down at him, "Is that what we are now?"

"Yeah, I think so." Stiles's brow furrowed as he looked over at Leah, "I mean, sharing a werewolf best friend, figuring out who the Alpha is, and trying to solve an old arson case…I feel like we've just blown past the enemies line." Stiles motioned with his hand. Leah shifted a bit, biting down on her bottom lip.

"So we're friends." She stated, feeling nervous.

"Is that okay?" He asked, brow furrowing. Leah licked her lips and nodded, taking in a breath as she fell back against the forest floor.

"Yeah, for sure." Leah lied. Of course it wasn't okay; Leah didn't want to be friends, she _wanted_ to be something more, but everyone had to start somewhere.

"It's kinda peaceful out here." Leah said after a moment. Stiles scoffed,

"Well, yeah, there's no murderous werewolves and werewolf hunters running around."

"True." Leah made a face and glanced over to Stiles, seeing him looking back at her with raised eyebrows, "Alright, come on." Leah sighed, sitting up, "Who knows when these murderous werewolves and werwolf hunters will show back up."

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	27. Rising Tensions

Morning practices were one of Leah's favorite things; she didn't have to go to practice after school and usually everyone was half asleep so it wasn't as hard. She wasn't forced to give it her all because no one else was. And once practice ended, she had time to wake up before school actually started.

Slinging her bag over her shoulders, Leah ran her fingers through her wet hair, mussing it up a bit as she walked across the hall to the boys' locker room. She pushed the door open and weaved through the guys still in their towels, some in their jerseys. Leah walked past Scott who was following Coach, talking animatedly.

"There's my favorite formal date!" Leah pulled her gaze away from Scott to look at where Kyle was standing. He was wrapped in a towel, abs out and on display. Leah felt her mouth open a bit and she tilted her head to the side, staring at his abs for a moment before shaking her head.

"I never said yes." Leah reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest,

"Yeah, you really know how to make a guy sweat." Kyle raised his eyebrows up and Leah rolled her eyes. Formal was a day away and she still hadn't given Kyle an answer. She figured he would take her non-answer as an answer but apparently not,

"Hey, no worries." Kyle put up his hands, "Just let me know by the end of the day." Leah looked back at him, eyes darting down to his abs again before looking back at his face,

"Sorry, your abs are distracting me." Leah said, laughing at him. Kyle let out a little laugh.

"Oh, I know."

"Oh, really?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows before glancing away from him.

"You lookin' for Stilinski?" Kyle asked, making Leah look back at him. He was finally pulling on a shirt and Leah had to admit she was a little sad to watch the abs disappear.

"Uh, yeah, kinda." Leah said, giving him a small smile, "Is he around?"

"I just saw him over by his locker." Kyle answered. She nodded at him before falling back on her heel, turning to go over to Stiles. But before she could do anything, Scott turned away from Coach and caught her eye, stepping over to her and looking like someone had just kicked a puppy.

"Hey." Leah said with one hand going to hold onto her backpack strap, "What were you talking to Coach about?"

"I can't go to formal." Scott dejectedly said.

"Why?" Leah's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why Scott wouldn't be able to go.

"Academic probation." Leah's eyes widened as Scott told her he was failing all of his classes.

"Scott." She softly said, "Why didn't you tell me you were failing?"

"I haven't had time to study _and_ protect everyone else." Scott moved his shoulders around. "I've been sleeping on Allison's roof; I'm so worried that Peter is gonna try something." Leah rolled her lips in and looked around the locker room, biting her tongue from saying anything about Scott putting himself first, "Coach said that if I show up at formal, then he's gonna drag me out by my teeth."

"Sounds like Coach." Leah let out a breath, "So what are you gonna do?" She asked as Scott looked over her head. Leah turned to follow his line of vision, landing on Jackson. Scott walked by her and she watched him go over to Stiles, grabbing him and dragging him over to where Jackson was. Leah sighed and went to follow after him, only to run into Kyle as she went.

"Long time no see." Kyle grinned at her.

"You're wearing a shirt." Leah pointed out, "Almost didn't recognize you." Kyle laughed as he looked down at himself. Leah looked around him to see Stiles peering around the lockers, looking back at her. Leah gave him a little wave and he rolled his eyes, pulling his head back and disappearing.

"Do you wanna go grab breakfast?" Kyle asked Leah, getting her attention,

"Yeah, sure." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, turning to follow Kyle out of the locker room.

They headed for the cafeteria and Leah got into line behind Kyle. She had never gotten breakfast after morning practice, but apparently Kyle had since he grabbed two of everything, setting one on Leah's tray and one on his.

"Hey, about formal." Leah started as they walked away from the register, finding an empty table. Leah sat across from Kyle and set her tray down in front of her, "I don't think I'm gonna go." She settled on.

"Okay." Kyle simply responded, moving his fork around as Leah opened her apple juice,

"I'm sorry." Leah lamely said, "I'm just not a fan of school sanctioned activities." Kyle raised his eyebrows as he shoveled a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

"It's fine." Kyle's brow furrowed as he spoke around his food, "We can just do something else."

"Yeah?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows as she reached for her breakfast sandwich. Kyle bobbed his head in a nod. Leah gave him a small smile before unwrapping her sandwich and beginning to eat it.

* * *

Sipping at his coffee, Connor uncrossed his ankles, looking down the street in case anyone was coming. The front door of the house opened and Connor let out a sigh as Kate walked out of the house, noticing him immediately. She gave him a knowing smile as she sauntered towards him, not saying anything as she leaned next to him against the car.

"You're really something, Katie." Connor sighed out, looking down at his coffee before looking straight ahead. Kate scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest,

"I didn't say anything that she wasn't already thinking or feeling." Kate seriously said, "I just…helped her along."

"I told you, very clearly, to stay away from her." Connor snapped out, looking over at her.

"And you also told me she didn't know anything." Kate snapped back, meeting his gaze, "You never were good at lying to me." Kate smirked at him as Connor let out a huff.

"Where is he, Kate?" Connor seriously said, looking away from her.

"Where's who?" Kate innocently asked. Connor took in a breath and gave her an unamused look to her smirk, "Why would I tell you?"

"Was practically kidnapping my sister and dragging her out to your little raid just a way to get to me?" Connor asked, pushing against the car. Kate let out an amused laugh.

"Con, there are werewolves running around again." Kate turned to him, brow furrowing, "And from what I remember, you didn't do a great job at keeping her safe the last time." Connor's jaw clenched and he looked away from Kate. "I mean that's why you came to me, right? You found me out _long_ before Derek did and you—"

"How was I supposed to know that you were going to set his house _on fire_." Connor cut her off, glaring at her, "I asked you to help Leah, not take out an entire family of werewolves."

"Well, you can't just cut off one head of the Hydra." Kate shrugged. Connor looked away from her, shaking his head, "Look, I've always been on your side." Kate placed a hand on Connor's arm, "I know it may not seem like it, but we both have people we want to protect." Connor scoffed,

" _Please_ , you only want to protect yourself." Connor pushed off of the car, stepping out of Kate's grasp. "Tell me where he is, Kate."

"Honey, you know full well I won't be doing that." Kate tilted her head at him, "And if you do anything, like follow me, just know that I have eyes everywhere. Including on your darling little sister, who you love _so_ much." Kate threatened. Connor took in a sharp breath and glared at her,

"He's not going to tell you anything." Kate tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrows at Connor,

"He will. Just like he did before." Connor stayed quiet, not wanting to give himself up as Kate smirked at him, "Later, Con." Kate waggled her fingers at Connor. He continued to glare at her for a moment before turning and walking away from her.

* * *

"So if you need a suit, Connor's got a bunch of old ones." Leah said as Scott and her walked out of the school. It had been a pretty uneventful day and Scott had informed Leah about how worried he was about what might happen at the dance with the werewolves and werewolf hunters. Leah didn't mention that she wasn't going to formal.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure I have one in the back of my closet." Scott shook his head and Leah raised her eyebrows at him,

"From when we were eight?" She asked.

"From when we had to go to court for my mom and dad's divorce." Scott corrected her. Leah raised her chin up in a little nod before looking away from him.

"Allison, Lydia and I are going to the mall today to pick out dresses." Leah sighed, looking around for Allison, "So I can keep an eye on her for you in case Peter appears."

"I'll be there." Scott seriously said, "Just in case." He added on, getting a nod from Leah. "I still don't have my phone, but Connor gave me one of his old ones so I can text you the number." Leah nodded again.

"Yeah that works." She paused and took in a breath, "Okay, well, be careful." Leah looked back at Scott before spotting Allison walking across the parking lot. "See ya." Scott gave her a small wave as Leah went down the stairs, catching up with Allison as she got to her car.

The Macy's was pretty busy for a school night and Leah followed Allison across the parking lot to meet up with Lydia. She gave Leah a tight smile before flouncing inside the double doors, getting an eye roll from Leah. Allison and her shared a look before heading in after Lydia.

Leah wasn't quite a fan of shopping; she lived in a cycle of the same shirt in different colors and the same things she had since freshman year. Leah did order some things online or would go whenever her mom or Heather tricked her into it. After her conversation with Lydia earlier in the month, Leah decided to try shopping again—broadening her color wheel and hoping to catch the attention of Stiles. But, she still got bored very easily so she hoped their dress shopping trip wouldn't take too long.

She managed to get separated from Allison and Lydia, finding herself in the perfume section. Leah sent a quick text to Allison, asking where they got to before looking up and seeing Stiles standing at one of the counters, picking up different perfumes. Leah tilted her head at him, watching as he studied each of them. He sprayed one in the air and then wrinkled up his nose at the smell of it, getting Leah to roll her eyes.

"Whatta doing?" Leah asked, saddling up next to him. She must've startled him because he all about dropped the perfume he was holding.

"Uh, no—nothing." Stiles looked down at the bottles and then glanced over at her. Leah raised her eyebrows at him, nodding a bit before glancing down at the array of different sized bottles, "Hey, which one of these do you—which is your favorite?" He asked,

"I don't wear this stuff." Leah said, picking up one of the prettier looking bottles. She liked that it had a daisy on top of it and she didn't notice Stiles's surprised reaction.

"You don't?" Leah looked back at him, seeing that his eyebrows were raised.

"Are you trying to say I should?" She asked, furrowing her brow.

Stiles scoffed and raised his eyebrows, not giving her an answer, but giving her an answer. Leah let out a disbelieving laugh as she gaped at him before she raised the bottle up, spraying it in his face. Stiles flinched back, coughing and sneezing before looking away from Leah. Leah followed his line of vision to see Lydia and Allison standing by the escalators, looking at them. Stiles gave the girls a two finger wave as Leah set the perfume down.

It seemed like Allison had already told Lydia about her new formal date, so Lydia and Stiles went off together while Allison and Leah stuck together. Leah wasn't really looking to buy a dress, but Allison told her that Lydia was buying her a dress to make up for making out with Scott. So Leah was determined to find the most expensive, nicest dress for Allison just to spite Lydia.

Leah swiped through the dresses, only pausing when she wanted a better look at one of them. Allison was on the other side of the rack, looking through the rest of the dresses. Pushing up on her toes, Leah looked over to see Stiles following behind Lydia, arms full of dresses as Lydia tossed another one on top of the growing pile. Leah shook her head, amused at what she had just seen and went back to looking at dresses.

"That's not your color." Leah heard a smooth voice say. She rolled up on her toes again to see Peter approaching Allison. Her eyes went wide and she dropped back down, crouching a bit as she reached for her phone. She sent a quick text to the number Scott had texted her earlier in the evening, telling him to do something.

"…I mean, you can't call skin like yours pale." Leah looked back up at the sound of Peter's voice. Her stomach turned; she had to get Allison away from him.

As she slowly walked around the rack, Leah heard Peter continuing his conversation with Allison "You're not here alone, are you?" Leah paused and peered around the mirror, seeing that Allison looked nervous and uncomfortable, "Shopping for dresses with friends?" Allison looked back at Peter and glanced down, noticing Leah but quickly looking away from her,

"High school dance." Peter settled on as Allison let out a shaky breath.

"Formal." Allison softly said as Leah stepped around the mirror, ready to play her part.

"Hey, Allison," Leah walked around Peter, getting to Allison, "I, uh, found this one that I think you'd really like." Leah held out the dress she had grabbed from the rack. Allison glanced down at her and gave her a relieved smile as Leah looked to Peter, noticing his amused smile. She glared at him, placing a hand on Allison's arm in a protective way.

The store PA clicked on and a woman's voice came over the speaker, getting everyone's attention, "Attention, shoppers. The owner of a blue Mazda, license plate five-U-N-I-seven-six-eight."

"Did she just say a blue Mazda?" Allison whispered to herself,

"Your car is being towed." The woman finished, getting Allison to let out a small gasp,

"What? That's my car." Allison went into her purse, digging to find her keys as she walked away from Leah and Peter. Leah watched her hurry to the escalators, disappearing out of sight.

"Nice try." Leah said, giving him a look. Peter rolled his eyes and pursed his lips,

"Please, you think I didn't know that was all Scott?" Peter asked, twirling a finger in the air, "I have to say, Scott, I continue to be impressed with your ingenuity." Peter paused and looked at Leah, "Just remember. You can't be everywhere all the time." He threatened. Leah took in a breath through her nose as Peter smirked at her. He turned, walking away from her and Leah angrily hung the dress back up on the rack as she looked around for Scott.

Scott moved out from where he was hiding, quickly walking up to her, "You okay?" He asked, hand out to her. Leah nodded and let out a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest,

"Yeah, I'm good." She paused for a moment, "Nice job." She gave him a small smile, one that Scott returned. Leah took in a breath and looked away from Scott, arms crossing over her chest,

"Why do I feel like the end is near?" She asked, looking back at Scott, "I mean, with the Argents having Derek and Peter going after Allison…"

"Yeah, it feels like we're just waiting for it all to come crashing down." Scott took in a breath. Even without his werewolf senses, he would be able to know what Leah was feeling; he felt the same way. Tensions were rising and it felt like a storm was looming over them, and they had to wait for the first strike of lightening. There was only so much the teens could do to stop it.

"Do you want me to come to the formal tomorrow night?" Leah asked, looking up at him, "I have a feeling you'll need all the extra help you can get."

"Yeah, yeah." Scott nodded, "I mean we don't have a plan—I can't really go because of the whole—"

"Failing all of your classes?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows to Scott's nod. "Sneak in through the roof, head in through the Chem lab and then down to the gym." Leah quickly mapped it out, "Done and done." Scott gave her a grateful smile, "We'll figure out the rest when we get there." Scott nodded at her, "I should go check on Allison and make sure she's okay." Leah reached out to him, rubbing his arm before heading past him and going to the escalators.

As much as Leah didn't want to go to the formal—she _really_ didn't, she knew it was the perfect place for Peter to make his next move. It was crowded, Scott wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Allison at every single moment, plus there was bound to be hunters out and about trying to find the Alpha. Leah figured she might as well try to be another able body who could keep an eye out for any danger during the dance. Maybe nothing would happen and maybe they would all get their happy endings. But Leah knew, deep down, that was more unrealistic than the werewolves running around. It felt like it was time for everything to come crashing down around them. Peter's plan and the Argents' hunt were bound to collide and whoever got involved was just going to be collateral damage.

The automatic doors slid open for Leah, letting her hurry out to the parking lot to see Allison standing by her car, looking around rather confused. Leah caught up to her, seeing that there was a Macy's bag by Allison's feet,

"Everything okay?"

"I could've sworn the lady said my car was getting towed." Allison's brow furrowed and Leah shrugged,

"Maybe she misread the license plate." Leah offered up an excuse, "Either way, perfect timing considering that creep." Leah nodded back to the Macy's, referring to Peter.

"Yeah, that was weird." Allison shook her head, "But I had to buy the dress he picked out since I practically ran out of the store with it." Allison sighed, letting her weight fall onto her foot. Leah raised her eyebrows,

"You could always return it."

"No, no, it's fine." Allison waved her hand around, "I'm kind of over the whole shopping thing anyway." She looked to her car and then back to Leah, "Do you mind if we go?"

"Oh my God, I thought you'd never ask." Leah laughed out, getting a smile from Allison, "Can we _please_ get something to eat on the way, I am starvin' Marvin." Leah said as she went around to the passenger side,

"Oh yeah definitely." Allison nodded, grinning at her.

* * *

Connor pulled open the door to the veterinary clinic, ignoring the closed sign and heading back into the examination room. Deaton was waiting for him, straightening the things on the counter, he turned when Connor quietly closed the door behind him,

"What can I help you with tonight?" Deaton asked, giving Connor a warm smile. Connor went over to the examination table, placing a file folder on top and flipping it open as Deaton walked over.

Smoothing out the wrinkled picture Connor had found in Derek's car, he spun it around so that Deaton could see the report. It was a picture of a deer with the werewolves' mark for revenge on it. Deaton looked from the picture then back to Connor,

"I already told Derek that I had nothing to do with this." Deaton raised his eyebrows, "They just called for my opinion."

"I know that's what you said." Connor flattened his hands on the table, "But this is what brought Laura back to Beacon Hills. This was what got her killed." Connor seriously said, pointing to the picture. He took in a deep breath as he looked at the picture, trying to push down his feelings.

He still hadn't really dealt with Laura's death—it had been compartmentalized. Connor didn't have time to mourn, being thrown right back into the craziness of Beacon Hills. But he knew the wound was still fresh and opened and he missed her. If there was anyone who could help him right now, it'd be Laura. She was always the calm one, the one making rash decisions, wanting to slow down before attacking.

"I need to know everything you know about this picture." Connor shook himself from his thoughts, wiping his hand under his nose.

"You shouldn't feel guilty about what happened." Deaton seriously said, "You didn't set the fire."

"I should've warned them. About her." Connor looked up at Deaton, "But after everything that had happened with Leah…" Deaton nodded solemnly and Connor took in a deep breath, "It's in the past." Connor straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tell me what you can." Deaton pursed his lips before reaching for the paper,

"Three months ago, a woman came in asking for a copy of this picture." Deaton said, "Right before Laura came back." He looked up at Connor, who stared at him intently, "Her name was Maria." Deaton waved the picture around as Connor's brow furrowed. He didn't know anybody by that name.

"Okay." Connor nodded, reaching back for the paper, "Thanks." He placed the paper back into the folder, shutting it and picking it up in his hands. Deaton gave him a small smile and nodded, but he looked like he wanted to say something.

"What?" Connor asked, noticing the look.

"I saw her, Laura." Deaton slipped his hands into his pockets as he looked at Connor, "When she came back to town, she came to me for advice." Deaton paused, "And she was looking for you." Connor took in a quick breath and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. He looked away from Deaton, swallowing and blinking quickly,

"I should've known. I could've helped her. Saved her." Connor raised his eyebrows quickly, looking down at hands.

"But you didn't know. You had moved on." Deaton said, getting Connor to look back at him,

"What if I shouldn't have?" Connor quietly asked.

"That's the million dollar question." Deaton raised his shoulders up, "But you're here now." Deaton nodded at him, "Don't make the same mistakes." Connor blinked quickly, brow furrowing as he nodded.

"Thank you." Connor raised the folder up and gave him a tight smile. Deaton nodded at him, turning away from Connor and indicating that Connor should leave.

Back in his car, Connor felt himself begin to break down. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands on the steering wheel as tears rolled down his cheeks. Connor took in a deep, hitching breath, leaning back against the seat as he let himself cry.

* * *

"So are you _sure_ you don't want to come to the formal tomorrow night?" Allison asked as Leah dug her hand into her bag of fries.

"God, yes." Leah scoffed as Allison sipped at her milkshake, "It's the last thing I wanna do." She couldn't very well tell Allison she had changed her mind. The reasoning behind it was too complicated and Allison didn't need to know why Leah was going. Deep down, Leah hoped Allison would never find out about the werewolves of Beacon Hills _or_ her family's involvement. But Leah knew sooner or later, Allison was going to find out and Leah just hoped it would be later and on Scott's terms.

"And you're _sure_ you're okay with Stiles going with Lydia?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows. Leah paused, chewing for a moment as she looked out Allison's windshield. After going through the drive-thru, Allison had pulled her car over to the parking lot, letting the girls eat and talk.

"I'm not _okay_ with it, per say," Leah started, moving her head around, "But seeing how the idea of going with Lydia made him so happy, I just…" Leah laughed, "I don't know." She looked to Allison who had an understanding smile on her face, "She's his dream girl, you know? The one he's always gonna want, no matter what the sheriff has to say about it."

"The sheriff?" Allison asked, brow furrowing. Leah took in a breath and glanced over to Allison,

"The other night, he was drunk and said something about how Stiles was always under my spell or something stupid like that." Allison grinned at her, seeing how Leah tried to play it off, "I mean, he's wrong, obviously."

"Obviously." Allison chimed in, rolling her eyes before giving Leah an amused smile, "Or, he's not." Leah picked up her milkshake, eyeing Allison as she took a sip.

"I'm _not_ telling him." Leah said after a moment. Allison slumped down and let out a little groan,

"Come _on."_ Allison begged, "You said you would and then you didn't!" Allison paused, "Do it for me, okay?"

"Why?" Leah asked, looking at Allison,

"Because of everything going on in my life, I just want _one_ thing to work out."

"And how are you so sure it's going to work out?" Leah asked, reminding herself to circle back to Allison's statement.

"I don't." Allison shrugged, "But I think you won't know until you tell him." Leah studied her for a moment before looking back at her shake,

"What do you mean _with everything going on in you life_?" Leah looked at Allison, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, just…stuff." Allison waved her hand around in the air. Leah raised her eyebrows at her and Allison quickly looked away.

"Ally," Leah started, sitting up a bit, "I know we've only known each other a few weeks now, and it's cool if you don't consider me one of your best friends, but you've quickly become one of mine, which surprised me because as you're well aware, I am not good with people." Allison let out a little laugh and Leah couldn't help but smile, "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, you can tell me shit and I promise you I won't laugh at you or anything like that. I'm here." Leah gave her a small, understanding smile and Allison looked back at her, eyes darting down as she took in a breath,

"I got pulled over by your mom." Allison mumbled out. Leah's eyebrows raised, not expecting that.

"What?" Leah asked, leaning forward.

"The other night—oh my God, it was so embarrassing." Allison groaned out, covering her face with her hands, "I never met your mom before and then she pulled me over and it was—it was the worst!" Allison looked over to Leah and Leah tried to fight the laugh that was bubbling up.

"Oh my God." Leah burst out laughing as Allison gave her an incredulous look,

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" Allison shouted out, reaching over to smack Leah's shoulder, "God you're the worst." Allison shook her head, but couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry, sorry!" Leah put her hands up, "I just think it's hilarious that you got pulled over by my mom! And _that's_ what you were so worried about!" Leah dissolved in a fit of giggles as Allison rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah yeah it was really funny." Allison dryly said as Leah composed herself as Allison gave her an amused grin,

"She didn't write you a ticket, right?" Leah asked, becoming serious.

"No." Allison laughed a little, "I mean I totally deserved one, but she didn't." She raised her eyebrows up and Leah nodded, impressed with her mom.

"Because my mom's the greatest." Leah sang out, settling back in her seat with a sigh. Allison rolled her eyes and laughed a little.

"Hey, you're one of my best friends too." Allison commented, glancing at Leah. "You're like one of the few people I trust." Allison said, with a grin, tossing her hair back over her shoulders. Leah pulled down the corners of her mouth, nodding a little as she met Allison's smile.

Allison looked down at the cupholder, reaching for her fries and changing the subject. Leah began to feel the same feeling of guilt wash over her as she thought about how many secrets she had been keeping from Allison.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	28. Formal Sucks

Friday night, Leah jogged down the stairs, going to answer the door after she heard the bell ringing. She pulled it open to come face to pizza boxes and when she looked up, she saw Kyle's grin,

"I've got pizza, snacks and _the_ _best_ movie of all time, _Saving Private Ryan_." Leah rolled her eyes,

" _Saving Private Ryan_ is not the best movie of all time." Leah droned out, stepping to the side to let Kyle come into her house.

"Agree to disagree." Kyle shrugged, "Living room okay?" Kyle motioned to the living room with the pizza boxes he was holding.

"Yeah, yup." Leah nodded, following him into the living room.

"Uh, hi." Leah heard her dad say and she looked over to see her dad in the kitchen, making up his dinner for his shift, "Who the hell are you?"

"Dad, this is Kyle." Leah said, making her eyes wide to silently communicate to her dad to not embarrass her. Kyle set the pizza boxes down on the coffee table and went into the kitchen to shake Drew's hand,

"Nice to meet you, sir." Kyle said as Drew shook his hand. Drew eyed Kyle carefully and then looked at Leah,

"Aren't you supposed to be going to formal tonight?" Drew asked.

"Ah, no," Leah clasped her hands in front of her, "We decided to skip and watch _Saving Private Ryan_ for _some_ reason." Drew grunted and nodded,

"One of the best movies ever made." Leah rolled her eyes as Kyle grinned at her. Drew was still holding Kyle's hand and yanked it towards him to get Kyle's attention, "Remember, you're in the house of the deputy of the sheriff's department."

"Understood, sir." Kyle nodded and glanced at Leah, who let out a deep sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We have _guns_." Her dad emphasized, leaning forward, "And all of us know how to use them."

"And you're breaking my hand." Kyle gasped out, pulling away.

"Dad, come on." Leah rolled her eyes and walked up to Kyle, "You're being ridiculous."

"This is the first time I've gotten the chance to pull the intimidating dad tactic." Drew looked proud of himself. Leah rolled her eyes again as Drew stepped around the island, "Okay, I'm leaving. Be safe. Connor should be home soon." Drew kissed the top of Leah's head, "No funny business." He pointed at her before giving a look to Kyle.

"Have fun at work!" Leah sang out, trying to get her dad to leave. Drew ruffled her hair before walking past her, heading for the front door.

Leah's phone buzzed as her dad left and she looked down to see Heather's name come up on the screen. Leah answered the call, pressing it to her ear, "Hey!" She said, a smile appearing on her face. Kyle turned, going back into the living room to get the movie set up.

" _What are you up to tonight?"_ Heather asked back, " _I miss you!"_

"Actually, do you wanna come over?" Leah responded, looking over to Kyle, "We're having a like a little movie night and it'd be cool if you came."

" _Ooo yes!"_ Heather sounded excited, " _Don't start without me!"_

Leah promised that they wouldn't and hung up with her friend. She went over to the couch, folding herself onto it as Kyle fiddled with the Xbox, trying to get the DVD to work,

"Who was that?" Kyle asked, glancing over at her.

"Oh, just my friend Heather." Leah made a face and tapped her phone against her hand, "I invited her over, if that's okay."

"Yeah for sure." Kyle nodded, pushing to his feet and walking over to her. "It's your house." He reminded Leah before falling onto the couch, making Leah rock a bit and he grinned at her,

"This was a good idea."

"I would've picked a different movie." Leah sighed out, making Kyle laugh. Leah smiled a bit, picking at her phone, "You sure you're okay with missing formal?" Leah asked, brow furrowing a bit,

"Oh, yeah totally." Kyle nodded, "I mean I still have prom coming up." He pointed to himself. Leah looked over at him and he raised his hands up, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask you." Leah laughed a little and rolled her eyes, "I just thought it would be fun to go tonight, as friends." Kyle explained, "And it'd be fun to rub in Stiles's face."

"What?" Leah's brow furrowed she gave him an amused smile, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that…he doesn't know how good he's got it." Kyle raised a hand up, looking over at Leah, "If you showed up with me, then maybe he'd realize it." Kyle simply explained.

"But what if I don't like Stiles like that?" Leah asked, propping up on her elbow. Kyle gave her an unamused look,

"Please, Kane." He scoffed, "We're on the same team, I see the way you look at him when you think no one else is watching." Leah gaped at him for a moment before looking away, "Listen, the guy's an idiot." Kyle stated, "He probably doesn't even realize it."

"He doesn't." Leah seriously said, looking back at Kyle, "We're just _friends_." Leah scrunched up her features, "I mean, he's at the dance with _Lydia Martin_." Leah waved her hand around, "Which I made happen because apparently I like to hurt myself."

"You gotta tell him." Kyle said, looking at her, "Like I said, he's an idiot." Leah screwed her mouth to the side.

The doorbell rang, causing Leah to get up from the couch. She went over and opened the door, hearing Heather before she saw her. Heather squealed and wrapped her arms around Leah's frame. Leah returned the hug and pulled Heather inside with her so she could shut the door. Heather released Leah, turning to see Kyle looking at them from his spot on the couch.

"Heather, this is Kyle. Kyle, Heather." Leah quickly introduced the two, flicking her hand in between the two of them. Kyle gave her a two finger wave before turning back and reaching for one of the pizza boxes,

"He's cute." Heather leaned in and whispered to Leah, "Did you move on from Stiles?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh, no, we're just friends." Leah shook her head, walking back over to the couch,

"Yeah cause she's got a crush on some other dude!" Kyle said through a mouthful of pizza. Leah rolled her eyes and pushed Kyle's head forward as she walked around the couch. Heather raised her eyebrows and nodded, sitting down on the love seat as Leah perched herself on the arm of the couch,

"I keep telling her she needs to just tell him." Heather said, motioning to Leah. Kyle raised his eyebrows and sat up a bit straighter,

"I was just telling her the same thing!" Kyle said, he put two fingers out and motioned in between himself and Heather, "We're on the same wavelength." Leah rolled her eyes and sighed,

"And I told both of you, it's not happening."

"Why not?" Heather asked, reaching for a slice of pizza, "Worst thing that happens? He says he doesn't feel the same and you move on." She shrugged, biting into the pizza.

"After months of awkwardness." Leah pointed out. Kyle looked over to her, biting down into his pizza and chewing for a moment,

"I think you should just go to the dance and tell him." Kyle shrugged.

"That's a great idea!" Heather chimed in as Leah let out a deep sigh. Heather paused for a moment before sitting forward, "I've known you all my life, Leah. You're this badass, confident girl who isn't scared of anything and you're letting a _boy_ —hell, _Stiles_ , freak you out!" Heather waved her pizza around, "Where's the girl that jumped off of the roof into the lake because the older boys said you wouldn't? I mean, you almost drowned because you couldn't swim, but still..." Heather trailed off, getting Leah to roll her eyes.

"Yeah!" Kyle added his own two cents, "And where's the girl who decided to go out for the lacrosse team even though you were the only girl?" Leah looked in between her friends, letting a sigh. "Point is, you aren't the type to let boys scare you." Kyle finished.

"Fine." She gave in. Heather started clapping as Kyle did a little fist pump in celebration, Leah rolled her eyes as her phone buzzed. She looked down to see a text from Scott's new number and she opened it, reading it as Heather and Kyle talked about something or other,

 _it's scott! where are you? i swear i just saw peter! need your help!_

Leah's brow furrowed as she re-read the text from Scott. She didn't remember ever agreeing to go to formal, but if Peter was there, then she really needed to go—not just to tell Stiles about her feelings, but to make sure that Allison was safe.

"Okay, let's go." Leah said, getting her friends' attention. Heather let her eyes trail over Leah's outfit and she grimaced,

"Luckily, I have something in my car you can change into." Leah sighed as she got off of the couch.

As Kyle drove to the high school, Leah was in the backseat, changing into whatever Heather had grabbed from her trunk. Leah pulled her hair up into a ponytail, hair parted down the middle and pulling down two chunks of hair to frame her face. She managed to straighten herself out as Kyle pulled into the high school,

"Do you have a ticket?" Kyle asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

"Uh, I was just gonna sneak in." Leah made a face and Kyle returned it, nodding a bit,

"Yeah sounds good." Leah laughed a little as she pushed out of the car, landing on her feet. She pulled down the skirt and looked down at herself.

She was in a flowy, long sleeved black dress that had a plunging V neckline, cinching at the waist by a string that was tied in a bow before flowing out into a short skirt. It was embroidered with big red roses and Leah felt for pockets, finding two and stuffing her phone into one.

"You look moderately better." Heather teased as Leah went up to the side window. Heather handed her a tube of lip gloss and winked at her. Leah rolled her eyes and took it before Heather reached down, going into her bag and pulling out a pair of heels.

"No." Leah shook her head,

"You look ridiculous with those sneakers." Heather raised her eyebrows. Leah eyed for a moment for a minute before giving in and grabbing them. She kicked off her sneakers and pulled her socks off. Luckily the heels were thick, so Leah felt steady as she clasped them around her ankle.

"Good luck!" Heather gave her an encouraging smile. Leah gave her a small smile before looking at Kyle,

"You look great." Kyle complimented her, "Now go in there and spill your heart."

"Thanks, guys." Leah reached out for her friends, "We'll reschedule movie night, I swear." She nodded at them before turning and hurrying into the school.

Everyone was already in the gym as Leah got inside. She followed the balloons and various couples. She caught sight of Allison walking into the bathroom and Leah followed her, heels clacking against the hallway.

"Hey—Hey!" Allison did a double take as Leah walked into the bathroom with her, "Oh my God, you're here!" She grinned at Leah before pulling her into a hug, "Thank God." Allison hugged her for a moment before releasing her, "You were right, formal sucks." Allison laughed and Leah made a face,

"Didn't want to say I told you so, but…" Leah shrugged, getting Allison to roll her eyes, "Jackson's not that great of a date, huh?"

"I think I've been replaced by his flask." Allison grimaced and Leah rolled her eyes,

"Jesus."

"You look great!" Allison changed the subject, backing away from Leah to get a good look at her. She shook Leah's shoulders and grinned at her, "Some major boob action going on. Are you free boobing it?" Leah laughed and went to cover herself, pretending to be shy about it,

"They're stuck in sports bras all day, let them have a little fun." Leah pouted as Allison laughed, stepping back from her. "The dress does look good. Pe—he was right." Leah caught herself as she let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I kind of like it." Allison twisted her hips a bit, "Come on, let's go dance." She grinned at Leah, grabbing her hand and all about dragging her out of the bathroom and into the gym.

The band was playing some sort of fast song so the gym floor was packed with groups of people. Leah let Allison take her into the dance floor as she looked around for Scott. She spotted him by the bleachers and lifted her hand in a small wave. Scott noticed and lifted his chin in acknowledgment, a small, relieved smile appearing on his face as he realized Leah was attached to Allison.

Turning her attention back to Allison, Leah couldn't help but laugh at Allison's moves. Allison grinned at her and grabbed her hands, the two of them twirling each other around as they figured out how to move with the beat. Leah spun Allison around as she laughed, spinning her out and then letting Allison dance back to her. She found herself moving her hips to the beat, raising her arms above her head as Allison danced along.

It was the most normal Leah had felt in a while, ridiculously dancing with Allison. Her thoughts were far from werewolf drama or her crush on Stiles. She was in the moment, dancing with one of her best friends, not caring what anyone thought.

When the chorus hit, the two of them began to jump up and down, trying to scream the lyrics at each other, even though they didn't know the words. Leah dissolved into giggles, looking around the dance floor to see what everyone else was doing. As she bounced, her gaze fell onto where Stiles was sitting with Lydia and she caught his eye. Stiles had an amused grin on his face as he watched her dance moves and Leah rolled her eyes, trying not to smile as she turned back to Allison, grabbing her hands and twisting her hips.

The song ended, merging into a slow one and Leah blew a piece of hair away from her face as she tried to catch her breath. Couples began to appear on the dance floor and Leah looked at Allison, who gave her a small smile,

"I'm gonna go get a drink." Leah managed out, "Come on." Leah took in a deep breath and started to weave through the crowd. She got to the drink table where Jackson was standing, looking sullen.

"Jackson." Leah looked to where Allison was coming up to them, "Dance with Allison, okay? Be nice for once in your miserable life." She quickly said as she filled her cup with punch. Jackson looked down at her as Allison walked up to them. He sighed and looked over to Allison,

"Wanna dance?" He asked, holding out his hand. Allison gave him a small smile and nodded, taking Jackson's hand. Leah sipped at her drink, watching the two of them go out onto the dance floor.

Surveying the dance floor, her eyes landed on Stiles and Lydia. Leah watched as Lydia had her head against Stiles's shoulder, arms around him. Stiles had his hands on her hips and Leah felt her stomach rolled at the sight of them. She watched the dance for a moment before she heard Finstock's shout,

"McCall! I see you McCall!" Leah looked over her shoulder to see Scott take off into a run from the bleachers, trying to get away from their lacrosse coach.

Laughing at the sight of Finstock chasing Scott around the gym, Leah set the cup of punch down. She was enjoying the scene before her, watching as Scott quickly grabbed Danny, forcing him to dance with him. Finstock came to a sudden halt as it became clear that everyone was waiting for what he was going to do. Leah watched as Finstock realized he couldn't drag Scott out of the dance; it would look like he was against two guys dancing together. Her lacrosse coach gave up, waving his hand around as the band started to play the slow song again.

The couples on the dance floor resumed their slow dance and Leah watched Scott go over to Allison. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Scott held his hand out to Allison, who took it with a small smile. Leah watched as Scott and Allison began to slow dance, a smile appearing on Leah's face. Ducking her head for a moment, Leah stole one last glance at Scott and Allison before looking over to where Stiles and Lydia were embraced. Leah let out a small sigh, coming to terms with the fact that she had missed her chance to tell Stiles about her crush.

Grabbing her sneakers from where she had dropped them when she came into the gym with Allison, Leah walked out of the dance, tucking her hair behind her ears. Her heels clicked against the concrete as she walked across the parking lot, seeing Kyle's car.

"What are you two still doing here?" Leah asked, walking up to the driver's side.

"Wanted to stay in case anything went south." Kyle responded, giving her a small smile, a matching one on Heather's face. Leah raised her eyebrows and swallowed,

"Well, it's fine, you guys can go." Leah lied, not telling them that everything had gone south. She waved her hand around, "I was just getting some air."

"So you talked to him?" Heather asked, leaning forward,

"Haven't found him yet." Leah lied again, "Guys, seriously, it's fine, just go. I'll be fine." There was a pause as Kyle and Heather shared a look before Kyle nodded,

"Okay, yeah." Kyle bobbed his head, "Text if you need anything."

"I will." Leah promised, "Thanks, guys." She gave them both a small smile before stepping back from the car, "I'll see you later."

She watched as Kyle drove away from her, leaving her in the parking lot. Sighing, Leah turned and looked back at the school, deciding to head back inside. But before she could get inside, her phone rang, making her dig it out of her pocket. Stiles's contact name appeared on her screen and Leah swallowed before answering it.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, looking around herself. There were two people walking out of the woods and Leah squinted, trying to make out who it was before shaking her head,

" _Where the hell are you?"_ Stiles asked back, the sound of the dance muffled behind him.

"Outside, I'm on my way in." Leah opened the door, stepping inside the school. "Is everything okay?"

" _Have you seen Lydia?"_ Stiles asked. Leah felt her stomach drop; of course he would be looking for Lydia. She stopped walking and leaned against a row of lockers,

"Only attached to you." She grumbled,

" _Yeah well she ran off, went looking for Jackson."_ Stiles responded, ignoring her sarcastic comment.

"Oh my God, why is everyone so obsessed with Jackson these days?" Leah asked,

 _"Yeah you're telling me."_ Stiles agreed, " _Listen if you see her, can you just text me?"_ Leah turned at the sound of the door opening. Jackson stumbled in, looking wrecked,

"Found Jackson." Leah simply said before hanging up. Jackson walked up to her and Leah crossed her arms over her chest, "Where the hell have you been?" She asked out as Jackson continued to walk by her. Leah followed him, seeing Stiles exit the gym and catch sight of the two of them,

"Did Lydia ever find you?" Stiles asked, stepping up to them. "You're taller." Stiles said to Leah, doing a double take.

Leah lifted her leg up, kicking her heel out in front of Stiles's face as an explanation. Stiles pulled back so he wasn't hit with Leah's heel and returned his attention back to Jackson, who hadn't answered Stiles's question causing Leah and Stiles to share a look,

"What? What's wrong?" Stiles asked as Leah stepped away from Jackson, over to Stiles and turning to look at Jackson full on.

"I was out behind the school, and I—I—" Jackson started stammering as he tried explain what had happened. Leah squinted at him as Stiles's features hardened,

"Jackson. What did you do?" Stiles seriously asked. Jackson looked in between the two of them before taking in a shaky breath,

"They were out there—the hunters, Allison's dad—they were looking for the Alpha." Jackson managed out, "But they found me instead." Leah crossed her arms over her chest,

"Jackson…" There was a warning tone to Leah's voice, "What the fuck did you say to them?" Jackson swallowed, getting nervous. He hated to admit it, but Leah and Stiles tag teaming him slightly terrified him, "I told them about Scott." Jackson admitted, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He watched as Leah's face hardened and Stiles's jaw clicked. He barely had time register Leah's hand coming towards his face, only feeling the sting of her palm against his cheek, his head snapping to the side,

"You fucking idiot." Leah seethed out, pushing her sleeves up. "Scott should've left you for dead that night." Leah spat out before whirling to look to Stiles. Stiles flinched back in defense, not knowing what Leah was going to do next, "I'll go find Scott, you go find Lydia." Leah nodded at Stiles, "Text me if you need anything."

"What about me?" Jackson asked, raising his hand up. He got glares from both of them,

"You can just stay here and think about what you did." Leah snapped out before turning on her toe, heading back into the dance.

Leah let out a huff as she scanned the gym, looking for any sign of Scott or Allison. She climbed up onto the bleachers, hoping to get a better view, but she couldn't see any sign of either of them. Pulling out her phone, Leah went to text Scott before remembering he didn't have his phone. Climbing down from the bleachers, she went to leave the gym, only to be cornered by Finstock,

"Where's McCall?" He barked out. Leah made a face and shrugged.

"Haven't seen him. Pretty sure you banned him from the dance, coach." Leah reminded him. Finstock huffed and shook his head,

"No, no no, nice try, Kane." Finstock pointed at her, "I saw him dancing with Danny earlier tonight." Leah smirked to herself as she remembered that moment, "If you see him, tell him he's in serious trouble. And _not_ because he was dancing with a dude." Finstock let out a huff before stomping off, mumbling to himself. Leah laughed at her coach, watching him walk away before shaking her head.

She walked back out into the hallway to see no sign of Stiles or Jackson. She walked away from the gym, poking her head into the boys's bathroom to see that it was empty. The boys's locker room was just as empty and Leah found herself getting frustrated.

"Come on, Scott, where are you?" Leah mumbled to herself as she headed for the doors.

There were a few people milling around the parking lot, smoking and drinking, but none of them were Scott. Leah sighed to herself, heading for the lacrosse field, pulling her sleeves back down as the cold air nipped at her arms.

The field lights were on, causing Leah to squint at the sudden brightness. She put her hand up to block out some of the light and so she could adjust. As she stepped onto the field, she noticed that there were three figures on the field, one on the ground and two standing.

Getting closer, Leah realized that the two people standing were Peter and Stiles. Her heart went to her throat and she took off into a run, watching as Stiles stepped over the person on the ground.

"Stiles!" Leah cried out, slowing down as she got to the person on the ground. Stiles turned to look at her and Leah looked down to see that Lydia was the one on the ground, covered in blood, eyes fluttering shut. "Oh my God." Leah fell to her knees, hands hovering over Lydia's body as she tried to find the source of the bleeding. There was a massive bite mark on her side and Leah pressed her hands over the wound on instinct, looking back up to see Stiles looking at her,

"What the hell, man!?" Leah cried out, "She's your date, it's _Lydia_! you gotta help me!" Leah looked to where Peter was standing, looking at her with confidence.

"I can't." Stiles said, voice hoarse.

"Why not?!" Leah sputtered out, "You can't go with him!" She glanced to Peter who gave her a smirk—almost as if he got everything he wanted and was proud of what he had done. Stiles licked his lips and shook his head,

"Make sure she's okay." Stiles seriously said. Leah gaped at him, glancing down at Lydia before looking back up at Stiles.

"Stiles, don't." Leah leaned forward, trying to get him to stay, "We gotta—She's bleeding, we need to get help. He _bit_ her, Stiles! She's gonna—Oh my God." Leah stopped herself as she realized what it meant for Lydia. She licked her lips, blinking a bit as she looked back at Stiles, "Don't—don't go with him." She pleaded with him, "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry." Stiles said before looking away from Leah. She could only watch as Stiles followed Peter into the darkness.

* * *

Scott stumbled out of the woods and into the street, tripping over himself. He fell to the ground, hands sliding against the road. The stinging didn't bother him as he let out a sob; nothing else mattered to him—not anymore. Allison had found out. She had found out about him. He had been so careful, not telling her certain things, making up excuse after excuse, and he thought—he thought it was going to be find. But she found out anyway. She knew he was a werewolf and suddenly, nothing else mattered. He didn't notice the bright car headlights coming straight at him, stopping right before it collided with him.

Footsteps approached and Scott lifted his head to see a pair of worn-in sneakers standing in front of him. Then the person crouched down, making Scott look up to see Connor above him. Connor looked down at him, concern written all over his face,

"What happened?" He asked.

* * *

Leah ran out of the woods, catching the attention of groups of teens that were milling around in the parking lot. All of them started screaming as they caught sight of Jackson carrying a bleeding, unconscious Lydia in his arms as he tried to keep up with Leah. Leah had managed to get in contact with Jackson, knowing he was her only option since Scott was missing in action as was Allison. After calling Jackson, she called her dad, telling him there had been an animal attack at the school and they needed an ambulance as soon as possible.

The sound of the ambulance siren cut through the crowd's screams at the sight of Lydia. Leah saw her dad's ambulance rig pull up into the parking lot and Drew got out of the driver's seat as the back doors opened,

"Are you okay?" He asked, grabbing Leah and giving her a once over.

"Dad, I'm fine. I'm fine!" Leah quickly reassured her dad, "It was Lydia, not me." Leah looked over to see her dad's partners loading Lydia onto a stretcher. Her dad continued to check her out, just to be safe, "Dad, I'm fine." Leah looked back at her dad, giving him a reassuring smile and nod.

"Drew!" Val, one of the EMTs got Drew's attention, "Come on!" Drew nodded and turned away from Leah. Leah followed him, getting to the back of the ambulance and looking to where Jackson was staring at Lydia in the ambulance,

"Meet us there." Leah said, giving him a look as she climbed up into the back of the ambulance, shutting the door behind her. She stared down at Lydia, noticing how fragile she looked — the complete opposite of the girl Leah was used to seeing, used to hating.

The ambulance started up, siren and lights flicking on as Drew pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the hospital. Leah reached out to gently hold Lydia's hand, not knowing if she could feel it, but wanting to do _something._ Val started asking her questions about the attack, getting Leah's attention,

"Did you see what it was?" Leah looked over at Val, "How long was she on the field before you found her? Why were you out there?" Leah took in a breath and looked back at Lydia,

"I didn't see what it was," Leah began telling her lie, "I don't know how long she was out there and I was out there because she went in search of her ex boyfriend—" Leah mentioned Jackson, "But didn't come back for a long time so I figured something might be wrong."

"Was that the kid out in the parking lot?"

"Yeah." Leah nodded.

"Hey, I know how scary this is right now." Val tried to comfort Leah, "But we're gonna do everything we can to save your friend."

"She's not my friend." Leah quietly said as she stared down at Lydia.

When the ambulance pulled up to the hospital, Leah pushed the doors open, jumping out of the ambulance and landing on her toes. She grabbed her sneakers from the floor of the ambulance, stepping back so there was room to get Lydia's stretcher out. Drew came around the back to help Val get the stretcher out, extending the wheels so they could roll it inside. Leah followed behind her dad, going through the sliding doors,

"Female, age sixteen, animal attack, bite wound to the left side, possible infection and head trauma. She's tachy and keeps going into shock." Leah sputtered out to the nearest nurse. The nurse looked at her before looking at Drew,

"She's right." Drew nodded, passing Lydia off to the nurse and another doctor. Leah watched as they took her into one of the trauma units, not looking away until Lydia disappeared from sight,

"What were you doing there?" Drew asked, getting Leah's attention, "I thought you were having a movie night?"

"Change of plans." Leah shrugged, looking back down the hall.

"Hey, Lele." Drew got her attention, "She's in good hands, okay? Your friend is going to be fine."

"We aren't friends." Leah licked her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. Her dad gave her a confused look for a moment before nodding,

"I'm gonna call your mother so she and the sheriff can get your statement." Leah nodded as Drew kissed the top of her head before stepping away from her.

Slipping her hand into her pocket, Leah pulled out her phone, dialing Allison's number as she walked into the ladies' room. She placed the phone to her ear as it rang, "Pick up, pick up, pick up." Leah mumbled to herself, trying to will Allison to pick up the phone,

 _"Hello?"_ Allison's voice came over the line,

"Allison!" Leah breathed out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank God. Where are you?"

" _With my aunt. Is everything okay?"_

"Everything is so _far_ from okay." Leah groaned, tipping her head back, "I've been trying to reach you all night. Lydia was attacked, she's at the hospital. I can't get ahold of Scott or Stiles I—"

" _Wait, Lydia? Is she okay?"_ Allison cut Leah off.

"We don't know yet." Leah paused, "Just…just get to the hospital when you can. I need to talk to you about something important."

* * *

"…And it turns out, Maria was Peter's nurse!" Connor finished as Scott got changed. "He knew exactly what he was doing while he was in the hospital. He lured Laura here and killed her, becoming the Alpha."

"So what do we do?" Scott asked, pulling on his jacket.

"We have to find Derek." Connor seriously said. Scott swallowed and nodded, looking down at his feet.

Earlier in the night, Connor had picked Scott off the side of the road —quite literally — and had Scott explain what had happened. According to Scott, Allison had found out about Scott's werewolfness after he was almost squashed between two cars. Scott ran off before anything else could happen, but he was emotionally crushed. For the past few weeks, he had been trying to keep Allison from finding out about him and it all came crashing down around him in a matter of seconds.

After a Scott was finished feeling sorry for himself, Connor explained what he had found out from his research. The woman that had come into the clinic asking for a copy of the picture had been Peter's nurse. Peter had it all planned out from killing Laura to killing off every single person that had something to do with the fire. And according to Connor, the Argents were next.

"How do you expect me to find him?" Scott asked as Connor drove to the Lookout. Connor glanced at his sister's friend and took in a breath,

"Remember that night at school? Where you almost got killed by Peter?" Connor asked, motioning to Scott.

"Yeah…" Scott trailed off, not getting it,

"Why did that happen?" Connor asked.

"Because I howled?" Scott responded, not sure of his answer.

"Exactly. A howl signals your location to the rest of the pack. So if you howl, and Derek responds…"

"We can figure out where he is." It dawned on Scott as Connor pulled up to the Lookout.

"Do your best." Connor said, getting out of the car.

Scott went over to the Lookout, climbing up on one of the rocks, Connor watching from beside the car. Feeling himself shift, Scott felt a rumble in his chest and he let it build up, focusing on finding Derek before he let a monstrous roar out.

Afterwards, there was nothing but silence. Scott climbed off of the rock, backing away from the Lookout point. He walked backwards, ending up standing next to Connor as they waited for any kind of response.

"I don't think it worked." Scott said, looking upset with himself. Connor held up a hand, indicating that they should wait for a moment.

Suddenly, the quiet was disrupted by a loud howl, reaching back to Scott. Scott turned his head towards the sound, ears perking up as the howl faded. Connor glanced at him, seeing that his brow was furrowed as he placed the source of the sound,

"I know where he is." Scott seriously said.

* * *

"Where's Lydia?" Jackson said as he burst out of the elevator. Leah turned away from her mom to see him, "Huh? Where is she?" He asked different nurses before looking ahead, eyes landing on where Lydia was in her recovery room. Jackson started over to the window, starting at Lydia as the sheriff went after him,

"Hey. Hey!" The sheriff got Jackson to turn around, "What the hell happened to that girl?" The sheriff asked, pointing to the window,

"I don't know. I went out looking for her—" Jackson sputtered out,

"What, you just happened to wander into the middle of that field and you just found her there like that?!" The sheriff shouted out, "Don't lie to me, son." The sheriff got up close to Jackson, pushing him back against the window,

"Sheriff!" Leah got the sheriff's attention, stepping away from her mom, "I found her. I called Jackson—he didn't, he didn't have anything to do with Lydia."

"This isn't my fault!" Jackson exclaimed, about two seconds away from stomping his foot. The sheriff looked back at Jackson, looking extremely angry,

"She's your girlfriend! That's your responsibility!" The sheriff yelled out, brandishing a finger at Jackson,

"No, she's not, okay? She didn't go to the formal with me." Jackson raised his eyebrows as he explained himself,

"Then who'd she go with?" The sheriff asked, still rather pissed off at Jackson,

"She went with Stiles." Leah piped up, getting the sheriff to look over his shoulder at her,

"What?" He asked, voice going soft,

"Stiles took her." Leah repeated herself. The sheriff let go of Jackson's jacket and stepped away from the teen. He ran a hand over his mouth as he turned to look at his deputies,

"Somebody better find my son." The sheriff seriously said.

Then Leah heard her mom gasp in pain, making Leah whirl around, "Mom?" Leah asked, stepping over to her, "Mom, are you okay?" Tara was curled over, one hand out for Leah to hold, the other on her stomach,

"It's the baby." Tara groaned, "Something's wrong." She gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut. Leah shot a panicked look to the sheriff as he snapped to attention, calling out for a nurse.

* * *

"He's at his house?" Scott asked as Connor pulled up a few feet away from the Hale house, "No, that can't be right." Scott shook his head. Connor stared at the house as he unbuckled,

"Not at it, under it." Connor realized, pushing out of the car. Scott followed, picking up Derek's scent as they walked up to the house.

Connor led him to a small opening off to the side of the house. It was one of the entrances to a series of tunnels that ran under the Hale house. The Hales mostly used it for extra storage — whatever didn't fit in the vault or necessary items — but it had all gone up in flames when Kate set the fire. She knew about the tunnels and that was how she set the fire, making the Hale house burn from the bottom up. No one could get out or in.

"So he's in there?" Scott asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Only one way to find out." Connor responded, giving Scott a look. Scott sighed and pushed aside some of the shrubbery as Connor's phone rang. He pushed out of his crouch, pulling out his phone and seeing Leah's name,

"Hey." Connor answered, looking over his shoulder at Scott and holding up a finger.

" _Where are you?"_ Leah quickly asked out, sounding panicked.

"I'm with Scott." Connor was quick to add, "He's fine, we're fine, we're just trying to find Derek." Leah let out a sigh of relief, "Where are you? What's going on?"

" _Long story."_ Leah took in a breath, " _Mom went into an early labor. The doctors say it's from the stress and long hours she's been clocking at the station."_

"Makes sense." Connor nodded, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Did you call Dad?"

" _He's here."_ Leah assured him, " _I don't know how long this is going to take, but—"_

"Stay there." Connor cut her off, "Mom needs you, we're fine here."

" _You sure?"_

"Positive." Connor nodded, not wanting to worry his sister, "Love you."

 _"Love you too."_ Leah responded before hanging up the phone.

Connor turned back to Scott, seeing him worriedly looking at him, "Leah's fine." Connor assured him, "It's just Mom and the baby, completely normal problems." Connor said, putting his hands out. Scott nodded, giving him a quick, relieved smile.

"I'll keep watch." Connor assured him, "Go in and get him." Connor waved his hands at Scott. Scott took in a breath before looking back at the opening. He ducked into it, Connor watching him disappear.

* * *

Leah walked down the hall, heels clicking as she talked into her phone, glancing around for any nurses, "Listen, Coleslaw, where the hell are you? Lydia's body keeps going into shock, Connor is with Scott trying to find Derek and my mom went into a stress induced labor! So if you could answer your phone for three seconds and tell me where the hell you are, that'd be great." Leah hung up the phone, shoving it back into her pocket as she saw her dad coming out of one of the rooms, the sheriff following behind him.

Walking up to her dad, Leah caught his attention as he turned away from the sheriff. He gave her a warm smile and met her halfway, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mom's fine." Leah nodded, "She told me to come find you." Drew nodded and Leah looked over his shoulder to where the sheriff was talking with another deputy, "What were you talking to the sheriff about?"

"Lydia." Drew gave her a tight smile.

"Is everything okay?"

"They don't know if she's gonna make it." Drew seriously said, "She lost a lot of blood. And her body keeps going into shock, like she's trying to heal herself." Leah pulled her lips in and crossed her arms over her chest, looking way from her dad. She didn't remember much about how Scott's bite healed, but she knew it didn't make him go into shock—it healed almost immediately, "Hey, they're doing everything they can." Drew assured her, thinking Leah was just worried about Lydia for normal reasons.

"No, I know." Leah nodded.

"And they deemed it an animal attack." Drew continued, reaching out to rub Leah's shoulders, "Okay? She's got nothing to do with that arson case. Apparently they have a key witness."

"A key witness?" Leah asked, tilting her head to the side. Drew took in a breath and looked around for a moment,

"I really shouldn't be telling you this…"

"But…"

" _But_ , the woman who set the fire was wearing some sort of pendant." Drew motioned to his chest area, "That's all I know, so don't ask me any more." Leah nodded, turning over what her dad had just told her, "Okay, I'm gonna go be with Mom. Got Ryan to cover the rest of my shift, so," Drew gave her a small smile, "let me know if you need anything." He kissed the top of Leah's head before walking past her. Leah watched him go over to the elevators, he stepped to the side to let someone out before stepping inside.

Brow furrowing, Leah realized that Allison had just stepped out of the elevator. She had changed out of her formal wear, and her hair was up in a bun on top of her head. Leah started over to her as Allison headed for Lydia's room. Stepping behind her, Leah watched as Allison placed a hand to the glass, peering into Lydia's room.

Allison's eyes flicked up and she saw Leah's reflection in the glass. Her features softened as she turned to look at Leah. Leah took in a deep breath and stepped towards her, reaching out for her friend. She drew Allison into a hug, only stopping when she realized Allison wasn't hugging back.

"Is everything okay?" Leah asked, pulling back. Allison shook her head before she looked over her shoulder at Lydia's room. She looked back at Leah and licked her lips,

"We need to talk." Allison seriously said, voice low as she looked around herself. Leah's eyes darted around her face as she nodded,

"Yeah of course." Leah pulled Allison out of the walkway, bring her over to the wall, "What's the matter?" She asked, brow furrowing. Allison took in a breath and looked down at her hands before looking back up at Leah,

"I don't really know how to start." Allison laughed a little as she shifted her weight. Leah reached out to take her hand only to have Allison pull back, "A few days ago-My aunt, uhm, she told me some things. And I didn't want to tell you cause I didn't want you to think I was crazy or something," Allison's brow furrowed, "But, uhm, then she told me about what happened to you." Allison's eyes flicked up to look at Leah, "About the attack. The _werewolf_ attack." Allison raised her eyebrows as Leah took in a sharp breath and swallowed. Allison knew about the werewolves. Her friend reached out to her, "Kate told me what they did to you — about the attack." Allison's eyes darted down to Leah's wrist for a split second before looking back at Leah,

"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Leah lowly said, looking away from Allison,

"Leah, _Lydia_ was attacked by one of them tonight." Allison seriously said before she paused for a moment, "Imagine who else they're gonna hurt."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Leah asked, looking back at her.

"I'm gonna fight." Allison seriously said, brow furrowing, "I'm gonna make it safe for everyone, just like you wanted to. Kate told me you came to her for help." Leah looked away from her, jaw clicking as she shook her head slightly.

"Yeah and that was a mistake. She wants to _kill_ all the werewolves" Leah seriously said, "And if you're gonna follow in her footsteps, then..." Leah took in a breath, crossing her arms over her chest, "What about Scott?" Leah looked back, eyebrows raising, "Are you gonna kill him?" Allison's jaw clicked as she looked away from Leah,

"You know." Allison scoffed, "Of course." She shook her head as Leah tried to explain herself, letting her arms drop to her sides,

"Ally, we were just trying to protect you."

"I told you I hated when people pull shit like that." Allison snapped back, glaring at Leah, "I trusted you!" Allison cried out, "And you lied to me!"

"I kept you _safe!"_ Leah responded, "You _seriously_ don't want to be involved with this world." Leah stared at Allison, eyes flashing, "Trust me." Leah paused for a moment, taking in a breath, "I hated lying to you, but it wasn't my decision. You come from a family of _werewolf hunters_ and you are in love with a _werewolf!_ " Leah waved her hand around, "I'm sure you can see how that can cause some problems."

"I'm not in love with him." Allison seriously said, voice cold. Leah scoffed,

" _Sure_." She rolled her eyes, " _Okay."_ Leah finished, pushing off of the wall, "You want to help Lydia?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows at Allison, "Don't go with your aunt."

"She's the only one who's told me the truth." Allison walked back from Leah. Leah looked around herself, gaping a bit as Allison walked away from her. Leah knew firsthand how manipulative Kate could be and it looked like her next victim was Allison—who seemed to be more than ready to follow in her aunt's footsteps. Allison turned away from Leah, pressing the elevator button,

"If she's telling you the truth, why don't you ask her about the Hale fire?" Leah called out, "How she set a house full of werewolves — and _humans!_ On fire." Leah finished as the elevator dinged. Allison didn't turn back, stepping into the elevator and letting the doors close around her.

Leah let out a heavy breath and went over to the window to Lydia's room. She looked in it to see Mrs. Martin sitting by her daughter's bedside. Leah checked her phone, chewing on her bottom lip as she had no new calls or texts. She was beginning to get nervous about Stiles's whereabouts.

A few minutes later, the elevator dinged, making Leah turn to see Stiles practically opening the doors with his hand as he pushed out of the elevator. He went to make a beeline for Lydia's room only to be intercepted by the sheriff. Leah's eyes went wide as the sheriff practically dragged Stiles down the hall by the scruff of his neck before Leah could say anything.

Taking in a breath, Leah went over to the elevator, pressing the button to go up to the maternity ward; if the sheriff had Stiles, there was no way Leah was going to get to talk to him until his dad was done yelling at him. Leah stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor button, stepping back as the doors closed. When they reopened, Leah walked out of the elevator, heading to her mom's room. She peered inside to see that her dad was there, talking to her mom about something. Leah smiled slightly at how normal it looked in the room before she pushed the door open, getting her mom's attention,

"Hey," Leah gave her mom a small smile, "Sorry, I wanted to check on Lydia after I called Connor." Tara nodded at her, giving her an understanding smile.

"Is Connor okay?"

"Yeah, he's just finishing something up and then he'll be over." Leah lied, thumbing over her shoulder, "Everything okay?"

"Just waiting for the drugs to kick in." Tara joked, running her hands over her stomach, "It's gonna be a while, Lele." Tara looked at Leah, "I know you probably want to be downstairs with your friends."

"It's okay." Leah waved her hand around, "She's sleeping now."

"Still." Tara gave her a knowing look, "You should all be together, in case something happens." Leah paused and looked from her mom to her dad. Drew nodded at her,

"I'll text you if anything exciting happens." Drew promised her, "Go." Leah put her hands up and backed away,

"Okay, okay." Leah gave in, "I'm going." She turned and opened the door to her mom's room, heading out and back into the elevator.

Once the elevator opened, Leah stepped out to see Stiles walking away from his father. She caught his eye and felt a weight being lifted off of her. Quickly walking towards him, Leah reached out to him, pushing herself onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. She pressed her face into his shoulder as his arms went around her waist, hugging her back. Smiling against his shoulder, Leah took in a deep breath, calming the stomach worms as she stepped back.

"I honestly thought Peter killed you." Leah seriously said. Stiles smirked at her and looked away from her,

"That'd solve a lot of your problems, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." Leah scrunched up her features and nodded, laughing a bit. The corner of Stiles's lips quirked up and he shook his head at her. "Why did you go with him?" Leah asked after a moment. Stiles swallowed and looked back at her,

"It doesn't matter." Stiles shook his head, "I gave him what he wanted."

"Which was?"

"He wanted me to find Derek." Stiles simply said. He shrugged, "Nothing too extreme." Leah eyed him for a moment, knowing there was something he was keeping from her, but she didn't push it. "How's Lydia?"

"She's fine, I guess." Leah shrugged, looking over her shoulder in the general direction, "I don't think the bite's healed though." Stiles nodded, and started walking down the hall. Leah turned and followed him,

"Thank you for getting her here. I know you two aren't really," Stiles waved his hand around, "Friends." Leah scoffed and rolled her eyes,

"Yeah, well, her blood was on my hands. I could've been held accountable for the attack if I didn't call." Stiles made a face and nodded as Leah changed the subject, "Listen, I think I figured out who set the Hale fire." Leah crossed her arms over her chest, "There's a key witness and they said it was a woman wearing a pendant." Leah paused, "I think it was Kate Argent." Leah settled on as she stopped walking, turning to look at Stiles. Stiles bobbed his head in a nod,

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"Okay, I talked to Connor earlier and he said that he and Scott were going to find Derek," Leah started to come up with a plan, "And if Peter wants to find Derek, then _we_ need to find _them_ before anything bad happens." Leah seriously said, getting a nod from Stiles.

* * *

Looking around the woods, Connor felt himself begin to get a little nervous; Scott had been down in the tunnels for a while now. Connor took in a breath and looked at the entrance of the tunnels for a moment before looking back around the Hale property. There was a small light coming from a few feet away from the Hale house and Connor's brow furrowed at the sight of it.

He started over to the light, pulling his phone out just in case. It suddenly began ringing, making Connor jump in surprise. Leah's name appeared on the screen and Connor went to answer it, placing it to his ear,

"Everything okay?" Connor asked, continuing to walk to the front of the Hale house.

" _Did you find Derek yet?"_ Leah asked, sounding like she was walking hurriedly. Connor could faintly hear Stiles arguing with someone in the background,

"Scott's getting him out now." Connor tried to keep calm, not wanting to worry his sister.

" _You're at the Hale house right?"_ Leah paused and Connor heard her snap out, _"Half of this is still your fault, Jackass."_

"Yeah, we're at the Hale house." Connor answered her, getting her attention,

 _"Okay, listen, Peter knows where you guys are, okay?"_ Leah warned him. Connor's eyes widened as he whirled around, scanning the woods for some sort of sign that Peter was lurking, _"We're on our way, but just—fuck."_ Leah stopped herself and Connor heard Chris Argent's smooth voice. The line went dead and Connor pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the dark screen for a moment.

Then he heard the whiz of an arrow and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The force of the arrow took him down, making him fall back against the forest floor. His hand went to his shoulder, feeling the arrow buried into his skin.

"Fuck." Connor managed out before the world started spinning and then everything went dark.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	29. No More Bad Blood Between Us

Chris Argent reached up to lock the door, pausing for effect before turning to face the three teenagers, "Let's try this again. Where is Scott McCall?"

Argent looked at each of the teens, studying them. Jackson looked terrified, eyes glancing over to the other two as if they could tell him what to do. Leah's face was set, eyes narrowed at Argent as her fists balled at her sides. Stiles looked annoyed and tired of the antics. Argent took in a breath and quickly grabbed Stiles by the front of his shirt, spinning him around and shoving him up against the door,

"Let me ask you a question, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?" Argent asked, getting close to Stiles,

"No. I could put it on my to-do-list, if you just let us go." Leah let out a laugh at Stiles's comeback, one that Argent didn't find as funny.

"Well, I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare to is a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?" Argent asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Not really." Stiles licked his lips, "No offense to your storytelling skills." His eyes darted over to Leah before returning back to Argent.

"He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head." Argent shoved a finger against Stiles's forehead, "The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to _kill_ _me_! Like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath." Stiles took in a deep breath as Argent paused, "Can you imagine that?"

"No." Stiles answered, "And it sounds like you need to be a little bit more selective with your friends—"

"Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon? Did you have to lock him up?" Argent cut Stiles off by shoving him harder up against the door. He was tiring of the teen's mouth, wanting answers, not snarky comments.

"Yeah, I did!" Stiles shouted out, "I had to handcuff him to a radiator." Leah closed her eyes at the memory of Scott on his first actual full moon. "Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?!" Stiles accused Argent. Argent paused and pointed at Stiles before closing his hand into a fist.

"I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that." Argent laughed a little bit.

"Oh, right. Derek said you guys had a code." Stiles kept his eyes on Argent, "I guess no one ever breaks it."

"Never." Argent shook his head slightly, looking over at the other two teens

"What if someone does?"

"Someone like who?" Argent returned his attention to Stiles.

"Your sister." Stiles seriously said. Argent took in a breath and his grip tightened on Stiles, when Leah decided to step forward.

"There was a witness." Leah said, getting Argent to turn to look at her, letting go of Stiles, "Who said that the arsonist was wearing the same necklace that Kate gave to your daughter." Leah explained, "And I'm pretty sure Allison wasn't capable of setting a fire at the age of nine." Leah squinted at Argent.

"We did _not_ set that fire." Argent seriously said, pointing at Leah.

"I'm not saying _you_ did." Leah shrugged, "Kate did. And now she's gone after Scott and Derek in some attempt to kill them and she's strung Allison along with her." Leah stepped up closer to Argent, arms crossing over her chest, "There were _children_ in that fire, Mr. Argent. Innocent people. And your sister _murdered_ them." She bit out, "Now, we're trying to save another innocent before Kate puts a bullet in his head." Leah seriously said, staring at Argent, gaze unwavering. "You have a code. Follow it." Argent took in a breath before looking at Stiles, then back at Leah,

"Do you know where they are?" Argent asked.

"Yes." Stiles confidently said, "But Peter does too and if he's going after everyone involved with the fire then he's going to be there."

"I'll go ahead, try and stop Kate from hurting Scott and Derek." Argent nodded at Stiles.

"I'll go with you." Leah volunteered, realizing it would be better for her to go, just to make sure Argent kept his word and didn't try to kill Scott and Derek. Argent nodded once and reached over Stiles to unlock the doors. Stiles stepped away, letting Argent walk out into the hallway with his men.

* * *

Scott climbed out of the tunnels, Derek following behind him. He looked around for Connor; he remembered Scott mentioning that his friend was standing watch. But there was no sign of Connor.

"Scott, wait." Derek managed out, still catching his breath. Scott turned to look at him, eyebrows raised as Derek looked around the forest, "Where's Connor?" He looked back at Scott. Scott's eyebrows lowered and furrowed as he looked around for his best friend's older brother.

"He was right here when I left him." Scott looked around for Connor, "Connor?" Scott called out. Derek shook his head as Connor didn't answer,

"I don't know, Scott, something doesn't feel right." Derek looked back to Scott, "It's kind of like getting out of there—I don't know. It was…It was kind of like it was—"

"No, don't say _too easy."_ Scott quickly cut Derek off, raising his hand up, "People say _too easy_ and bad things happen." Derek rolled his eyes as Scott continued, "What, do you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy!" Scott threw his arms out, "So if things are going right for, like, two seconds, can we just not question it? Can we just shut up and thank God that we finally have the tiniest bit of luck for once?" Scott finished with a huff. Derek eyed him for a moment before nodding,

"Fine. You're right."

"Thank you." Scott dramatically threw his head back, turning away from Derek, "Connor's probably waiting for us at the car."

"Nope, I'm not." Connor's voice got both of the werewolves' attention. They turned to see him propped up against a tree by the Hale house, one hand against his shoulder where an arrow was sticking out of him. Derek's eyes went wide at the sight and Connor took in a rough breath, "So slight hiccup in the plan." Connor managed out.

Before Derek or Scott could respond, there suddenly was the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air, burying itself in Derek's calf and making him fall to the ground.

"The Argents are here." Connor finished as Scott looked stunned but also terrified at the sight of his girlfriend aiming an arrow at him.

* * *

Stiles, Leah and Jackson walked out of the room after Argent and his men, Stiles stepped up to Leah, holding out his fist, "Nice job." He complimented her. Leah tried not to smile as she bump her fist against his,

"Team effort." Leah shrugged before glancing to Jackson, "Except for that one." Jackson made a face at her and Leah flipped him off, turning back to Stiles, "Okay, I'll go with Argent and you guys just follow us, yeah?" Stiles nodded and Jackson held up a hand,

"Hey, not to be a total downer, but how the hell are we supposed to defeat this guy? We have no weapons." Jackson spoke up, getting deep sighs from both Stiles and Leah. They stopped walking to turn and look at him. Stiles glanced over to a cabinet of chemicals and Leah saw him get an idea,

"Self-igniting Molotov cocktails." Stiles said, eyebrows raising.

"What?" Leah felt her brow furrow as Stiles went over to the cabinet, opening it easily and rummaging through it,

"That night we were trapped in the school," Stiles started to explain, "Lydia made a self-igniting Molotov cocktail as a weapon against the Alpha." Stiles started grabbing items, placing some on the ground and handing Leah two empty beakers, "But it didn't work because Jackson gave her the wrong powder." Leah gave Jackson a pointed look and Jackson rolled his eyes.

"Leah—" Leah turned at Argent's voice, "If you want to come with me, we have to go now." Leah nodded and turned back to the boys.

"I trust you." She said to Stiles, handing Jackson the beakers. Stiles swallowed and nodded, realizing how big of a deal it was for Leah say—out loud, that she trusted him. Leah stepped back, raising her pointer finger up in the air and Stiles raised his finger, giving her a small smile. Jackson looked in between the two of them with a confused look, not understanding what the hell was going on.

Leah turned, grabbing her sneakers from where she had left them before following Argent out to his car. She pulled open the passenger side door and got inside, buckling as Argent started the car, reversing and pulling out of the parking lot.

During the car ride, Leah took her heels off, pulling on her sneakers and feeling like she was walking on clouds. She didn't realize how long she had been wearing the heels or how much they had hurt her until after she took them off. Leah kept quiet for the ride, not knowing how to talk to Argent. Sitting in a car with a werewolf hunter, on the way to go save her werewolf best friend was not how Leah imagined her night to go. Her night went south very quickly and Leah could only hope she could help save Scott before Kate got to him.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Melissa McCall knocked on the door to Tara's room, getting both Drew and Tara's attention. Giving them a small, yet worried smile, Melissa entered, shutting the door behind her,

"So," Melissa started, stepping over to the bed, "Currently your blood pressure is too high to induce so I think it's best if we have the doctors do an emergency C-section." Melissa seriously said, tapping the chart against her palm. Tara took in a deep breath at the thought of a C-section and she rolled her lips in, looking to her husband, who looked extremely nervous, "Drew, can I, uh, talk to you outside for a second?" Melissa continued, motioning to the hallway. Drew nodded, glancing at his wife for a moment to reassure her with a kiss on the forehead.

Following Melissa out into the hallway, Drew closed Tara's door behind him, stepping a few feet from the room. Melissa turned to him, looking serious, "I don't have to tell you about our procedures here, right? Cause I _really_ don't want to have to explain that to you. This is already…emotional enough."

"No, I know." Drew nodded, swallowing back the lump in his throat, "Save the mother first." Melissa solemnly nodded.

"Does she have a DNR?" Melissa asked, switching back into nurse mode. Drew took in a breath, blinking a bit, as he tried to wrap his brain around everything. He was beginning to freak out at the thought of the emergency C-section, Leah and Connor not being with them, and then about everything that could go wrong, "Okay, hey, D, hey." Melissa realized he was beginning to freak out and she reached out for him, pressing her hands onto his arms.

"What if something goes wrong?" Drew asked out, eyes flicking back to Melissa, "I could lose her." Drew licked his lips, trying to control his emotions, "Oh my God, what am I gonna do, Mel?" Drew looked to Melissa, "I can't—I can't lose her." Melissa nodded at him, understanding what he was going through,

"Stop, hey, stop thinking like this." Melissa seriously said, rubbing his arms and trying to get him to calm down, "You're not, okay? She's not going anywhere." Melissa assured him, "It's _Tara_." Melissa emphasized, "She's got this." Melissa reassured him, "And you'll be right by her side, just like last time." Drew nodded, taking in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down,

"Go, be with your wife." Melissa urged, "I'll get in contact with Connor and find Leah." Melissa gave him a warm smile before pulling him into a hug. Drew hugged her back for a moment before stepping away and nodding, "I'll see you in surgery." Melissa bid goodbye to Drew, letting him walk back into Tara's room.

* * *

As Leah and Argent got closer to the Hale house, Argent pulled off and went into the forest. Leah heard a gunshot ring out and she instinctively clenched her fists as her stomach rolled. A part of her worried that they were too late. So when Argent stopped the car, Leah immediately got out, seeing the Hale house and four figures outside of it.

"Kate!" Argent called out and Leah saw that Kate had a gun pointed directly at Scott's head. Leah went to take off into a run, wanting to get in between the gun and Scott, only to be stopped by Argent. She looked up at him to see he had a gun pointed at Kate. Argent pushed Leah back, making her trip over herself and fall to the ground.

Then she felt someone's hand come around her face and cover her mouth, the person's other arm grabbing her around the waist. Leah let out a muffled scream, but everyone was too preoccupied with Kate and Scott to notice her being dragged back behind the Hale house. Leah kicked and twisted in her kidnapper's arms as he dragged her into the Hale house.

As soon as they were inside the house, the man all about threw Leah up against the wall, her head banging against the boards. She let out a gasp of pain as Peter stepped out from the shadows. Leah groaned and pushed herself up against the wall,

"What now?" She snapped out.

"Don't you want to know who took your memories?" Peter asked, cocking his head to the side. Leah glared at him as he stepped closer to her, "I have the answer…all you have to do is ask."

"Fuck you." Leah seethed out, "I don't care." Peter smirked at her, getting closer with each step,

"You know what I heard just then?" Peter paused, "Your heart rate rise when you said _I don't care_." Peter slowly said, "You do care." Peter pouted at her and Leah tried to muster all of her hate and anger into her expression. "You think I'm such a _bad guy."_ Peter waved his hands in the air as he walked towards Leah. "I was only trying to protect you." He raised his eyebrows at her, "And protect my family. Surely you can understand that." He tried to get Leah's sympathy, adopting a look of innocence. Peter paused for a moment before shaking his head, "But how was I to know that it would affect you like it did?"

"Laura warned you. She told you not to." Leah seriously said, trying to press herself flat against the wall, getting away from Peter's advancements.

"Ah, Laura, she always was a bit of a know it all." Peter squinted at Leah as she slipped against the wall, loosing her balance a bit.

"You killed her." Leah snapped out, "Your own niece."

"I had to." Peter simply said, "Had to make those responsible for the fire pay. And we both know Laura wasn't going to do it." Peter shook his head, laughing a bit. Leah's jaw clicked,

"Are we done here or…?" Leah trailed off, tiring of Peter. She pushed off the wall, stepping forward, "Cause I'm getting _really_ sick of you." Leah bit out. Peter gave her a wicked smirk before lunging for her.

Leah didn't have time to react as she felt Peter shoving his claws into her neck, piercing the almost healed marks from before. She gaped at him, eyes wide as he pulled his claws out and Leah's knees gave out but she managed to fall back against the wall. Sliding down it, she watched as the world spun, Peter shifting into a hulking black mass in front of her. Leah tried to blink, but her eyes felt heavy and she let the darkness take over her senses.

It was the same feeling as before, like someone had put a home movie on rewind. Scenes flashed by: the Hale house, pre-fire, younger Leah sitting on the couch, holding a wooden wolf figurine, Laura crouching down in front of her with a warm smile, playing with another young girl, flashes of her brother and then it finally settled on once scene.

Leah felt her world crashing down around her and she felt like she was falling through the air, quickly opening her eyes before she hit the ground. She was standing in the living room area of the Hale house, pre-fire. Looking around herself, Leah saw her younger self sitting on the couch with Peter crouching in front of her. Leah noticed how she was sitting, shying away from Peter and giving nervous looks to someone in the corner of the room.

"…And I'll be right here with you." Peter assured her.

"Are you sure Laura said this was okay?" Leah heard her younger self ask, sounding suspicious as she looked back at Peter.

"Of course." Peter gave her a winning smile, "Think of it like a shot." Peter explained and younger Leah made a face, "It's just to keep you healthy so you can keep playing with Cora." Peter tapped younger Leah's nose and she swatted at his hand, obviously not a fan of that. "Don't you want to keep playing with Cora?" Peter asked, raising his eyebrows. Leah's younger self paused for a moment before nodding. Peter looked over the couch and Leah saw an unfamiliar woman step forward, claws extending.

Leah started forward, wanting to save herself, but she found that she couldn't move. Pushing against the invisible wall, Leah tried to break free as the woman stepped up behind her younger self,

"Hey! No!" Leah cried out, trying to get the attention of the people in the room, but it was no use. Leah could only watch as the woman inserted her claws into the back of younger Leah's neck.

The room began to spin and Leah heard a cry of pain echo around her. Leah squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the rest of the memory. A broken noise escaped from her and when the room felt like it stopped spinning, Leah slowly opened her eyes, seeing that she was back in the Hale house, on the floor.

Rolling over, Leah saw into the living room where Peter had his claws around Kate's throat. Leah blinked hard, trying to get her surroundings and she saw Allison run inside, stopping suddenly at the scene. Leah tried to listen to what Peter was saying, but she couldn't hear anything. Slowly, Leah crawled over to the staircase, using the railing to get to her feet. She stumbled, falling against the doorframe, but Allison didn't even flinch, eyes trained on Kate. Suddenly all of Leah's senses flooded back to her, making her head pound as Peter's voice came through,

"Say that you're sorry for decimating my family, for leaving me burned and broken for years." Peter said, claws pressing against Kate's throat. Kate swallowed as Peter pressed harder, "Say it. And I'll let her live." Leah rolled her head over to look at Allison, seeing her begin to cry. She looked back over to see Kate take in a shaky breath before whispering out,

"I'm sorry." And for some reason, Leah knew Kate wasn't apologizing to Peter, but apologizing to Allison.

Then it felt like everything slowed down as Peter dug his claws into Kate's throat, a horrible tearing sound accompanying his action. He ripped Kate's throat apart, getting a horrified gasp from Allison as blood splattered across the window, "No!" Allison shouted, going forward as Peter let Kate's body fall to the floor with a thump.

Allison looked down at her aunt's body, eyes wide with shock. Leah felt herself become a little bit stronger and gain control over her limbs again as Peter started to advance, but stopped, looking off to the side. Leah pushed off of the doorframe, glancing over to see Derek and Scott all wolfed out and ready to attack.

"Go." Scott rumbled out. Leah reached out to grab Allison's hand, making her jump a bit before she looked over and realized it was Leah. Tugging at Allison's hand, Leah pulled her away from the wolves, trying to get out of the house through the back entrance.

Once they got outside, Allison let go of Leah's hand and Leah stumbled over to catch herself on a nearby tree. She took in a deep breath, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand and coming away with her hand stained with blood. Hearing growls and the sounds of werewolves fighting from inside the Hale house, Leah pushed off of the tree, making her way around the house and searching for Connor.

"Connor!" Leah called out, licking her lips as she looked around the Hale property. She spotted someone waving at her from a tree near the porch and she stumbled over to her brother, falling to her knees. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Allison was crouched over her father's unconscious body a few feet away, trying to get him to wake up.

"Hey, hey." Connor got her attention, "You okay?" His eyes searched her face, looking for any signs of injury. He had seen Peter grab her, but wasn't able to do anything because of—

"Oh my God, there's an arrow in you." Leah sputtered out, noticing the arrow lodged in her brother's shoulder,

"Yeah." Connor winced, "Just keep it in there, okay? I don't want to bleed out and die here." He waved his hand around, making a face.

Suddenly a window exploded as Scott was tossed out of the Hale house, Peter coming after him in full Alpha form. Leah whirled around seeing Scott quickly get to his feet to try and fight off Peter. He managed until Peter came after him once more, lunging for him. Leah acted on instinct, pulling off one of her sneakers, chucking it at Peter,

"Hey!" Leah yelled out, trying to get Peter's attention. "Over here!" She pulled off her other sneaker and waited until Peter's massive head whirled around to look at her to hurl it forward, hitting Peter directly in his Alpha head.

"Fuck you!" Leah cried out, flipping Peter off. Peter let out a massive roar, making Leah pull back from the intensity, "Ah, fuck." Leah said to herself, realizing that he was much closer than she originally thought. She quickly tried to get back from Peter's massive Alpha form, hitting her brother instead and making him groan.

She heard the sound of a car horn and looked over to see Stiles and Jackson getting out of the Porsche. Stiles immediately threw his cocktail, but Peter snatched it out of the air.

"Shit, fuck, shit, shit." Leah managed out as Peter advanced towards Stiles, ready to throw the cocktail back.

"Allison!" Scott's voice yelled out, getting the attention of both Allison and Leah. Scott tossed Allison her bow and Allison caught it in one hand, the other going for an arrow from the sheath on the ground.

She quickly loaded it up and shot an arrow directly at the glass beaker, making it explode and engulf Peter's arm in flames. Leah scooted back on her ass, trying not to get burned as Jackson threw his cocktail, the glass exploding and engulfing the rest of Peter.

But Peter wasn't going to go down without a fight. He lunged for Leah and she quickly grabbed Connor, rolling them both to the side, and pushing Connor away and down the small hill as she felt the heat of Peter. She looked up, seeing how close he was to Allison, but Scott quickly sprung into action, taking a leap and roundhouse kicking Peter in the face, knocking him back and making him go stumbling down to the ground, completely on fire.

Leah let out a breath of relief as she slumped down on the ground, watching as Peter turned back into his human self, a burnt to a crisp human man. Peering over her shoulder at her brother, she saw him sitting up, hand against his shoulder and he gave her a grateful smile. Leah looked back just in time to see Allison kiss Scott, seeing Scott shift back into his human form.

Looking across the way, Leah saw Stiles standing by the Porsche, lowering his arm that had been blocking out the light from the on fire Peter. He glanced over to her and relaxed slightly at the sight of her sitting on the ground. The two of them made eye contact and Leah let out a sigh of relief, a matching relieved smile on her face as she tried to communicate silently with Stiles. He nodded at her, placing his hands on his hips before looking away to where Scott and Allison were. Leah got to her feet, making sure Connor was okay where he was before walking over to Stiles.

She glanced over to where Scott and Allison were staring at each other lovingly, feeling her stomach worms roll over in her stomach. Leah knew it was time to own up to her feelings; if she could take down an evil Alpha werewolf, she could definitely tell her worst enemy that she had a crush on him.

"Wait!" Scott's cry made Leah turned to look at him, all thoughts of telling Stiles about her feelings forgotten. She followed Scott's line of vision to see Derek crouching over Peter's body. Leah hurried over to stand a few steps away from Scott, realizing Peter wasn't quite dead yet.

"You said the cure comes from the one who bit you." Scott reminded Derek, holding his hand out, "Derek, if you do this, I'm dead." Scott got Derek to look at him and Leah saw that his features were hard and he was breathing quite rapidly,

"Her father, her family! What am I supposed to do?" Scott pleaded with him.

"Derek, you can't kill him." Leah chimed in, shaking her head and getting Derek to look at her, "He knows who has all my memories and if he dies, I'll never get them back." Leah seriously said. Derek's gaze flicked in between Scott and Leah before Peter's hoarse voice spoke, getting Derek's attention,

"You've…already…decided." Peter breathed out. Leah chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at Derek's backside, "I can smell it on you!" And before any of them could do anything, Derek slashed his claws across Peter's throat. Leah gasped in surprise and turned away from Derek, closing her eyes slightly. When she turned back, Derek was staring at them, his eyes glowing a bright red.

"I'm the Alpha now." He growled out. There was a moment of silence before he took off into the woods, disappearing from sight. Scott went to go after him only to stop himself. He looked to Leah, looking devastated before turning his gaze to Peter's dead body.

"So that's probably not great." Stiles said, making Leah jump a bit. She took in a sharp breath and looked over to Stiles, hand on her chest. Stiles gave her tight smile as Leah calmed down,

"Yeah, definitely not." Leah shook her head, looking to where Scott was staring down at Peter's body. "But hey, nice one with the cocktails." Leah nudged him as she looked up at him.

"Team effort." Stiles repeated what she had said earlier with a shrug. Leah tried not to smile at him, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest.

"And to think, two months ago I could barely stand this close to you. " Leah teased, getting an eye roll from Stiles, "Here I am giving you compliments, _getting_ compliments."

"Don't let it get to your air filled head, Barbie." Stiles responded, "You are still _quite literally_ the worst." Leah responded with an eye roll, reaching over to punch Stiles's arm, "Hey! I thought there was no more bad blood between us?" Stiles reacted, pulling back and rubbing his arm, "You know, if we're friends, you gotta stop hitting me." Stiles pointed at her. Leah raised her eyebrows and made her eyes wide,

"Who said we were friends?" Leah asked with a taunting smile, stepping away from him as Stiles gave her an unamused look.

Leah turned, letting the smile fall as she felt her stomach worms again. She was a little angry with herself; somehow she _still_ hadn't told Stiles, even when he was standing _right there_. It was like her default switch was turned on, telling her to tease him and be mean to him instead of telling him the truth. She tried not to overthink her small, very small conversation with Stiles. It wasn't flirting, they weren't flirting—or at least that's what Leah tried to convince herself of.

Spotting Scott still looking down at Peter, Leah's overthinking was replaced with sympathy. She had gotten so caught up with her _feelings_ about Stiles she had completely forgotten to make sure Scott was okay. Stepping over to her best friend, Leah crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at Peter's dead, burnt up body.

"What am I supposed to do?" Scott asked out, after a moment of quiet.

"I have no idea." Leah took in a shaky breath, "But that's a fight for another day, yeah?" Leah looked at her best friend trying to be strong for him. Scott turned to her and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry we didn't get your memories back."

"S'okay." Leah shrugged, trying to play it off, "Gone this long without them." She repeated herself and stared at Scott for a moment before pulling him into a hug. Leah squeezed him against her body and he tightly hugged her back.

"Connor got shot with an arrow." She suddenly remembered her brother's injury as she pulled back from Scott, laughing at how ridiculous that sentence sounded even thought it was totally true. Scott let out a small snort, knowing exactly what she was talking about and how she was interpreting the situation. He pulled away from her as she continued,

"I mean, he's fine." Leah looked over to where Connor was getting to his feet, "We should probably get him to a hospital though." She said, tilting her head to the side and looking back at Scott. Scott gave her a small smile and nodded,

"Thank you for what you did tonight." Leah made a face and nodded.

"R-I-P, sneakers." She said, looking down at her bare feet, "Well worth the sacrifice." Leah looked back up at him, giving him another small smile. She reached out to hug her best friend again, "I'm glad you're alive." Leah seriously said, feeling Scott nod against her.

"Well, we did it." Stiles sighed out as he came up to the two of them. Leah stepped back out of her hug, glancing at Stiles, "Defeated the big, bad Alpha." Stiles motioned to Peter's dead body.

The three of them stared down at Peter, standing together in the middle of the woods, just like they had done several weeks prior, back when it all began.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_

 _(Also S/O to the incredible show Black-ish for inspiring me to add a little look into Tara/Drew's situation! You should all be watching such an important and timely show!)_


	30. A Somewhat Happy Ending

The Preserve was oddly quiet as Leah, Connor, Scott and Stiles walked away from the Hale house. After Derek had disappeared, Jackson took off, not saying a word to anyone, Allison had brought her dad into the Hale house to see Kate before the two of them left. Allison and Scott exchanged another passionate kiss before she left with her dad.

Connor had walked back into the Hale house after the Argents left to get a look at Kate's dead body. Thinking back, he remembered all of the time he spent with Kate when they were teens. They might not have been as close as Derek and her, but he trusted her, which unfortunately led to Hale fire. And after everything Kate had done — manipulating multiple people to get her way, killing innocents, and abusing her power, she had gotten exactly what she deserved. Connor knew that Kate was next on Peter's hit list, long before anyone else figured out. And as much as he hated Peter, he had to give it to him; he knew how to rip a throat out.

He crouched down next to her dead body, hand going into his pocket. Pulling out the Argent pendant that he had stolen from Allison earlier in the night, Connor lifted Kate's head up, wincing slightly as the arrow shifted in his shoulder. He draped the pendant around Kate's neck, adjusting it slightly against her chest. Staring at her, Connor felt a small weight being lifted off of his shoulders; his conscious was clear.

While Connor was looking at Kate's body inside the Hale house, outside, the three teens filled each other in about what happened once they went their separate ways at the dance. Leah told Scott about Peter attacking Lydia — explaining how the bite wasn't healed when she last saw Lydia. Stiles explained his adventure with Peter, even admitting that Peter had offered him the bite, which he had turned down, something that surprised both Leah and Scott. But Stiles left out the _why_ part of why he went with Peter. Peter had threatened to hurt Leah next and Stiles didn't know why, but he couldn't let that happen, which was why he went with the Alpha, leaving Leah and Lydia on the field. Finally, Scott told his best friends about how Allison found out about his werewolfness, diving into his adventure with Connor and relaying the same information to his friends that Connor had told him — Peter had known all along about what he was doing.

"So what now?" Leah asked as Connor came out of the Hale house.

"I seriously need to get this arrow out of me." Connor sighed as he walked up to the teens. Stiles did a double take as he noticed the arrow sticking out of Connor, jaw going slack.

"We should check on Lydia." Scott seriously said, "See if the bite healed." Stiles and Leah shared a look before they both nodded.

As the group walked back to Connor's car, Connor called the station, anonymously tipping them off that there was a body at the Hale house and it looked like an animal attack. The group was gone well before the sheriff's department showed up, making sure they didn't leave anything of theirs behind. Since Connor had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, Leah drove the boys home. She dropped Stiles off first, watching him head into his house. The three of them had agreed to get changed and then meet up at the hospital to check on Lydia's bite.

"How are we gonna make sure that the sheriff knows Kate set the fire?" Scott asked, peering through the space between the driver and passenger seats.

"They'll know." Connor said, nodding and getting a confused look from both Scott and Leah, "I was the key witness." Connor admitted, "I've always known Kate was the one who set the fire." Connor took in a breath, "Mostly because it was my fault." Leah raised her eyebrows as Connor looked to her, "I wanted her to protect you, I went to her for help and she—"

"Manipulated you?" Leah asked, "Yeah, I know the feeling." She glanced back at Scott and he gave her a comforting smile.

"I didn't know she was going to do it until it was too late." Connor explained, "And when I confronted her about it…you remember how she said I could never lie to her?" Leah nodded, "Well, she could never lie to me either." Connor blew out a breath, "Then when Allison showed up wearing that pendant…Kate used to wear it all the time." Connor moved his hands around, "I needed to clear my conscious, guys. I mean, I pretty much killed my best friend's entire family."

"You didn't." Scott spoke up, getting Connor's attention, "Kate did. She set the fire. You said it yourself, you didn't know that's what was going to happen." Scott gave him a small smile.

"I just had to make it right." Connor settled on, turning away from Scott and letting out a small sigh.

Once they dropped Scott home and Leah changed, the Kane siblings went back to the hospital, breaking off as they got inside. Connor snuck into one of the empty rooms to remove the arrow, telling Leah that he knew what he was doing. Leah let him go, telling him that she was going to go up to their mom's room. There were no new texts from her dad, so Leah figured they hadn't miss the birth, but when she got to her mom's room, it was clear Leah was wrong.

"We missed it?" Leah surprisedly asked as she closed the door behind her, letting her backpack drop to the floor. Her mom was sitting up in the bed, cradling a small bundle. "I thought you were going to text me!" Leah whispered yelled at her dad.

"Sorry, Lele, it all just happened so fast." Drew apologized, not quite ready to talk about the scary situation the two of them went through. Leah went around the side of the bed, looking at her mom and her baby sister,

"Leah, meet your baby sister, Zoey." Tara tilted her arms up so Leah could get a better look at her newborn baby sister.

"She's white." Leah said the first thing that popped to her head, getting a laugh from both of her parents,

"That she is." Drew nodded, an amused smile on his face.

"Did you go home and change?" Tara asked, looking Leah over. Leah looked down at herself and nodded,

"Yeah, Connor brought me a change of clothes." Leah lied; her mom didn't need to know about what had happened during the last few hours.

"Speaking of, where is that boy?"

"Right here." Connor entered on cue, no sign of an arrow sticking out of him, "I was waiting outside. Waiting for my cue." He joked, getting an eye roll from his mom. "Who's baby did you steal?" Connor asked, walking over to the end of the bed.

"This is your baby sister, Zoey." Tara said as Connor moved to stand by Leah,

"She's white." Connor said, with a small smile as his eyebrows rose,

"That's what I said!" Leah gaped at her brother as their parents let out matching groan-laughs. Connor seemed amused with himself as Tara reached out to smack his stomach.

The Kane family had about an hour of bonding where Drew and Tara told the kids about the emergency C-section, but were quick to assure them that everything was okay. Tara's blood pressure had gone down and Zoey was healthy, even for being two weeks early. The Kane siblings made up lies about their nights—Connor mentioning that he ran into the sheriff on his way up, who told him about a body being found at the Hale house wearing the pendant that he had told his mom about earlier and they thought she could be linked to the rest of the murders. Tara voiced her annoyance about how she missed closing such a big case, getting groans from her family.

Soon, a nurse came into the room, wanting to take Zoey to the nursery for the night so Tara could sleep. Tara complied, and then shooed her family out of the room. Drew kissed his wife goodnight, having to head to the station for his next shift. Even though Leah and Connor offered to stay over, Tara forced them out, citing that she had just had a baby pulled out of her and wanted her privacy. Connor and Leah didn't need to hear anymore, quickly exiting the room before their mom started telling birth horror stories.

"I'm gonna go meet the boys." Leah said to Connor as they got on the elevator. She pressed the button for Lydia's floor as she hiked up her backpack.

"I have to go to Deaton to get this stitched up." Connor pointed to his shoulder before pressing the ground floor button. Leah noticed the blood had started to soak through whatever Connor had put onto his wound, "I'll swing by and pick you up when I'm done?" Leah nodded, giving her brother a quick hug, "Text me if anything changes." Connor said as he stepped out of the hug,

"I will." Leah waved at her brother as she stepped out of the elevator.

Leah got to Lydia's room as Stiles and Scott slipped out of it. Scott caught sight of her and met her halfway, Stiles walking up next to him, "So?" Leah asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "Is she a werewolf?"

"No." Scott shook his head as his brow furrowed, "No, the bite hasn't healed." Leah looked from Scott to Stiles who was looking at Scott.

"So what does that mean?" Leah was confused as she looked back to Scott. Scott raised his shoulders up, taking in a deep breath,

"We have no idea." Scott sighed out, "I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on her." Leah nodded, glancing to Stiles.

"How's your mom?" Scott asked, changing the subject and getting Leah to look back at him,

"Good, had the baby." Leah gave him a small smile, "It's a girl. Her name's Zoey." Leah raised her eyebrows, "The circle of life, my friends." Leah said, extending her arms out as Scott laughed at her. Stiles couldn't help but smirk at Leah,

"Speaking of circle of life, you know in some cultures they say that when one person dies, their soul gets transferred into a newborn." Stiles started, a twinkle in his eye. Leah squinted at him, not following, "So since Peter died at the same time your sister was born—"

"Coleslaw, I swear to God if you finish that sentence—"

"Peter's soul would've been transferred into Zoey."

"I'm gonna kill you." Leah seriously said, glaring at him, "Why—why would you even say that?!" Leah raised her shoulders up as Stiles grinned at her, proud of himself. Stiles reached out to playfully hit her and Leah smacked his hand away, "She's _not_ Peter." Leah seriously said, still glaring at Stiles.

"We'll see about that." Stiles smirked at her before turning his attention to Scott, who gave a deep sigh at his friends' antics, "Hey, you still wanna go over to Allison's?" Stiles asked, digging his hand into his pocket for his spare set of keys he had managed to get after what happened at the Hale house.

"Yeah." Scott looked at Stiles, eyebrows raised.

"What are you up to for the rest of the night?" Stiles looked to Leah, "Are you staying here or do you want a ride home?" Stiles asked. Leah raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest, taking in a breath. If she went with him, she could finally get a moment with Stiles to tell him about her crush on him,

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll take a ride home." Leah tried to play it cool as Stiles nodded at her. She followed the two of them into the elevator and then out to Stiles's Jeep, texting Connor that she didn't need a ride home.

While Stiles drove to Allison's, Leah sat in the backseat, trying to think of what she was going to say to Stiles about her feelings. She began to get nervous and she looked at the rearview mirror to see Scott staring back at her and he gave her an encouraging smile. Leah realized Scott knew exactly what was going on so she gave him a serious look, trying to communicate silently with him to not say a word.

Stiles dropped Scott out in front of Allison's house and Leah climbed up into the front seat, letting out a huff as Scott turned to his friends, "So how's this gonna work out?" Stiles raised his eyebrows, "Is her dad okay with you two?"

"Probably not." Scott shrugged, "But he hasn't said anything."

"Because he's been a little preoccupied." Stiles reminded him.

"Shut up, they're in love." Leah said, elbowing Stiles and giving Scott a small smile, "I approve of this."

"Didn't really ask if you did." Scott quickly raised his eyebrows as he gave Leah a bit of her own medicine. Stiles let out a laugh as Leah gave Scott an unamused look.

"Whatever." Leah waved her hand in the air, "Either way you deserve a somewhat happy ending."

"Yeah, considering you took down an Alpha werewolf." Stiles leaned forward, raising his eyebrows at Scott.

"With your help." Scott gave credit where credit was due. Leah and Stiles exchanged a look before looking back at Scott,

"Let's just hope whatever comes next isn't as life-threatening." Stiles raised a hand up, looking in between his friends,

"Don't jinx it." Leah pointed out, tilting her head a bit. Scott smiled at his friends before tapping at the edge of the window,

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow." Scott raised his eyebrows up before turning away from them.

Stiles and Leah watched as Scott scaled the Argent house, hoisting himself up onto the roof. Leah laughed a little, shaking her head at his antics,

"Ridiculous." Leah scoffed as Stiles pulled out of the Argent's driveway. She looked away from the house, staring out the windshield. Stiles fiddled with the radio as he drove Leah home, filling the silence with a song Leah didn't know.

Throughout the ride, Leah stole small glances at Stiles, trying to hype herself up as the Jeep got closer to her house. She tried not to think about what Stiles's reaction would be or how it would affect their friendship. She started to imagine the conversation, thinking about what she was going to say, but then decided to stop trying to play it out. Leah figured she'd be pretty calm when the moment came, but she had never felt more nervous in her entire life.

When Stiles finally rolled up to Leah's house, he looked at her expectantly and Leah took in a breath, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Hey, remember that night when I wanted to talk to you?" Leah started, looking away from Stiles.

"Uh, yeah." Stiles's head bobbed and Leah looked back at him. "God, I knew you remembered and you were just fucking around."

"Okay, _no_. I didn't actually remember. It just—" Leah held up a finger, ready to argue before she took in a deep breath, stopping herself; it was not the time. She took in a deep breath and glanced at him, "I have something I have to tell you." Leah quietly said. Stiles raised his eyebrows up as Leah shifted in her seat, turning to face him fully. Her stomach worms were going crazy as she took in a small breath,

"I—I have feelings for you." Leah managed out, immediately regretting her decision. She opened her mouth to take back what she had just said before stopping herself. It was too late, she had figuratively pulled her heart out of her chest, presenting it to Stiles and there was nothing she could do except wait for his reaction.

Slumping down, Leah glanced over at Stiles as he blinked at her, trying to gather his thoughts. He looked away from her, licking his lips as Leah twisted her fingers around,

"Please say something." Leah whispered, feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"Are you joking?" Stiles finally asked, looking back at her, brow furrowed, "Is this some sort of, like, prank?"

"What?" Leah sat up, "What? No! Why would you even think that?" Leah asked, beginning to get upset. Stiles shrugged and made a face,

"Because it's something you'd do." Leah scoffed and rolled her eyes,

"Please, I've tried convince myself these _feelings_ aren't real and I don't know _why_ I feel this way towards you, but I figured I might as well tell you, in case," Leah paused, closing her eyes and taking in a breath, "In case you feel the same." She finally said. There was a moment of silence and Leah slowly opened her eyes to see Stiles look away from her,

"I don't." Stiles quietly, but seriously said. Leah blinked at him, not fully registering what he said,

"What?" She asked, leaning forward.

"I don't feel the same." Stiles looked back at her, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I think you're…a cool person, and I care about you, but like as a friend!" Stiles quickly added on, "I just…I don't feel the way you feel about me. You're my friend, you know?" Stiles defended himself, trying not to upset Leah. Leah pulled the corners of her mouth down and nodded, looking away from Stiles,

"Well, I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one night." Leah sighed out, turning away from Stiles and reaching for the door,

"Leah, wait—"

"It's fine." Leah said back to him, "I'll get over it." She nodded at him before pushing the door open, feeling like her whole world had just crashed down around her. She got out of the Jeep and closed the door, the sound and motion feeling very final. Leah took in a deep breath, regretting ever opening her mouth as she turned away from Stiles's Jeep.

Stiles watched Leah walk into her house and he ran a hand over his mouth, feeling like he had just made a huge mistake. He was left alone with his thoughts, remembering the past few weeks — the night at the school, specifically, when he for sure thought Leah was dead. The feeling of relief at the sight of her running towards him, looking rough, but alive. At the time, he figured his relief was because he had gotten out alive, but he slowly began to see that it was because he still had Leah by his side.

A feeling that Stiles could only describe as worms moving around in his stomach began as Stiles continued to think about Leah. Over the past several weeks, they had gotten closer—almost as close as they were before middle school before everything went downhill. Like he had said earlier in the night, there was no more bad blood between them; it had dried and it had been replaced with…something else. And then Leah had to go and admit that she had feelings for him, something Stiles never saw coming. He had begun to think of them as friends, close friends, which was more than he could ever ask for when it came to Leah. But after Leah said what Stiles could never imagine her saying, it was almost like she had flicked a little switch on in his brain.

He felt himself begin to sweat as he licked his lips, looking down, and realizing Leah's backpack was on the floor of his Jeep. Stiles reached down, seeing that her smaller front pocket was open. He saw the lipgloss she had been wearing during the full moon peeking out and he couldn't help but smile to himself.

His thoughts drifted back to whenever he was with Leah, how being with her felt so natural—almost like she was an extension of himself. They were practically on the same wavelength, especially when it came to the supernatural stuff. He had begun to like when she was around; whenever Leah was by his side, the crazy supernatural world felt somewhat normal again. She was someone who didn't take his shit and was quick to snark back at him. Before, it was just an annoyance, but now, Stiles had begun to enjoy their banter and their returning friendship.

Even though he hated to admit it, Leah had become someone he could count on, someone to call when he needed help or advice about supernatural shit. And he didn't care about a lot of people—really only himself, his dad and Scott, in that order, but when Peter threatened to hurt Leah, Stiles offered himself up because, well because he cared about her. Stiles couldn't imagine not having Leah around, even if it was just to make sarcastic comments together.

"Fuck." Stiles whispered to himself, realizing he had lied to Leah. He _did_ have feelings for her and he cursed himself for not figuring it out sooner. Everything just happened so fast and he didn't fully process it. But now…he glanced back at her house, seeing that her bedroom light was on.

Stiles turned his car off, shoving his keys into his pocket and clambering out of his Jeep. He carried Leah's backpack in his hands as he jogged over to the tree that was between her house and Scott's house. Slipping his arms through the backpack straps, Stiles began to climb the tree, carefully maneuvering his way towards Leah's bedroom. Stiles didn't know what he would tell her or what would happen after, but he knew he just wanted to see her again and make sure she knew how he really felt.

He tapped his knuckles against the window, getting Leah's attention. Her brow furrowed as she caught sight of him, but she got out of her bed, stepping over to the window. She carefully pulled it open, "Aren't you just some sort of modern Romeo." She stated, looking around his face. Stiles couldn't help but smile at her and slipped her backpack off of his shoulders, holding it out to her.

"Where did you find this?" Leah asked, taking it from him.

"You left it in my Jeep." Stiles explained, not noticing the confused look he got in response. "Can I come in?" He asked, beginning to feel a burn in his muscles from crouching for a period of time.

"Why would you come in?" Leah asked, tilting her head to the side and making a face.

"Uh, because I'm your friend and I'm outside…in the cold."

"We aren't friends." Leah gave him an amused, but confused look as she shook her head. Stiles sighed and slumped down,

"Oh my God, Barbie, cut it out. I get it, you're pissed at me." Stiles put his hands on either side of the window frame, "But if you just let me explain—"

"Let you explain what?" Leah cut him off, "Why you have my backpack? Or why you're scaling my tree and popping up like some kind of stalker?" Leah snapped out, getting angry at him.

"Wha—What?" Stiles's brow furrowed, "Leah, what are you talking about?"

"How the fuck do you know my name?" Leah asked, clutching her backpack to her chest. Stiles pulled back, eyes wide as she glared at him, "Look, dude, I don't know who the fuck you are, but my mom is a deputy of the sheriff's department so I can have the cops here in about five seconds!" Leah raised her voice, eyes bright and wide with anger.

Stiles felt his stomach drop as he stared at Leah. Leah stared back at him and Stiles thought back to all of those times where Leah had seemed forgetful or when she randomly remembered certain things that had happened days prior. He had brushed them off; it was Leah — she was probably just trying to get him to fall for it so she could make a fool out of him. But looking back at Leah and seeing that she looked at him in a way she had never looked at him before — there was that fire behind her eyes that he was used to, but it was tinged with something he could only describe as her trying to figure out who he was while also being extremely uneasy.

"Wait, wait, wait, what's _my_ name?" Stiles asked, holding a hand out in front of him.

"How the hell would I know that?" Leah asked, raising her shoulders up and shaking her head, "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Oh my God." Stiles whispered out, realizing Leah really, truly, didn't know who he was.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_

 _(S/O to the incredible show Black-ish for that soul joke. I couldn't not use it. And this is me nudging you to watch it lmao)_

 _TBH thank you for reading the first installment of the 'How to Murder Your Life' series! It means a lot and I'm proud of you for getting all the way through! Book Two: 'Holding On to You' is in the works! Again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed yourself!_

 _[extreme Youtuber voice]: Don't forget to smash that favorite button and leave a review!_

 _Much love. xxoo_


	31. AUTHOR'S NOTE

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

 _The first chapter of the second installment of HOW TO MURDER YOUR LIFE is posted!_

 _Go ahead, read and enjoy_ _ **HOLDING ON TO YOU**_

 _Don't forget to *smash* that follow/fave button and make sure to leave a review!_

 _xxx_


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